Bleeding Hearts and Shattered Skies
by doesntcareanymore
Summary: The heart and soul are both very fragile, what would happen if something like war were to come between them? War is hell, and so are the effects upon the minds of two lovers. As always any and all reviews are welcomed and appreciated.
1. Homecoming

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
Author's Note: Ok finally, I've gotten this fic up *whew* it certainly has taken long enough. I wanted to put up the first seven chapters so I could get to some action before boring everyone to death. My apologies to all that I have told that I would get this up soon, soon kind of turned into weeks later; my life hasn't been easy lately.  
  
Just one more thing, I would like to dedicate this fic to my grandfather. Another innocent soul claimed by the horrors of cancer, may he find peace wherever he may be.  
  
Bleeding Hearts and Shattered Skies  
  
The rain fell heavily on Fox's shoulders as it poured from the gray skies. He paced slowly back and forth in the across the rubble that used to be bits and pieces, hopes and dreams of some Cornerians, but now it was ruins. "Damn it," he cursed himself and wiped his eyes scraping away the rain mixed with tears. Fox then sat down on a large piece of stone that was once part of a magnificent arc and buried his face into his hands, with his head hung low. "Why did she do this to me damn it why?" Fox thought again this time slamming his fist down next to him. He leaned back lying flat on the stone letting the rain slam into his face and hopefully wash away his sorrow and pain. "How did this happen?" A white light blurred into his vision as his mind flashed back into what went before, and so replayed the memories.  
  
CHAPTER 1  
Homecoming  
  
"Well it's certainly about time we got rid of that menace once and for all." Fox said, staring out towards Dinosaur Planet  
  
"I agree," responded Peppy, "at least he finally got what was coming to him."  
  
"I uhhh.hope that you will be staying with us for a while at least," Fox said to Krystal.  
  
"Of course, do you really think I would just take off? You didn't abandon me in my time of need," she answered with a smile. Fox blushed and smiled back looking into her gorgeous blue eyes.  
  
"Hey! How bout we focus upon what our next move ought to be," Falco interrupted.  
  
"Right, Slippy pull up our account, I'm curious as to how much spending we can do after our payday," ordered Fox.  
  
"I'm on it, let's see.c'mon connect.Ok I'm in, accessing funds and HOLY SH-- !" but it was too late for Slippy to finish his sentence, the shear excitement knocked him out cold and onto the floor. The others gathered round quickly to the computer.  
  
"Holy sh indeed!" Fox exclaimed.  
  
"That is one big haul, five million; glad I came when I did," everybody looked at each other to make sure they weren't the only ones completely awestruck. Fox finally re-gained control over himself.  
  
".Ok everybody grab a seat we need to talk about what we're going to do with all this," everybody took a chair except Slippy who was still unconscious. "Falco would you mind," Fox said looking at the un-moving huddled mass of over-excited toad.  
  
Falco let out a sigh, "Pathetic," he groaned as he threw Slippy's arm over his shoulder and plopped him down into a seat next to the old CD player. "ROB water," he requested, ROB gave a nod exited and quickly returned with a pot of water which Falco then threw on Slippy.  
  
"Yaaaaahhh!" Slippy yelled as the shock from the cold liquid brought him back to life. "I'm all right," he said out of breath and spitting at the same time. Falco game him a pat on the shoulder and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.  
  
"Alright does anyone have any suggestions concerning where our finances should go?" Fox asked looking around at everyone.  
  
"Yea I've got one," Slippy said wringing water out of his cap. He walked over to the hologram controls and started typing in a few commands. It started beeping and soon a large display of the exterior part of the Great Fox came up. "OK here, take a look at this, as you all can see this ship has seen better days. We have been hit hard since the war with Venom and haven't gotten around to any Class A repairs. We're going to need to replace our armor plating and not to mention she's in need of a new paint job. Interior refinement and weapon upgrades you can do whatever you want with but, new plating is a must if you want this thing to hold during our next major firefight."  
  
Fox thought for a moment, "Yea I suppose that is a good idea, I really wouldn't want a repeat of what happened that time in Sector Z, what a nightmare!"  
  
Falco jumps up, "So we won't let it!" He looks at fox with a grin, "We need guns and I mean big guns. I mean, we could turn this thing into a flying fortress if we wanted to."  
  
"Now we're talking big bucks," Slippy said, "I've done enough upgrades to the cannons, wh-."  
  
"Right to hell you've done a lot with those," Falco said sarcastically, "What can you possibly do with duel mark 2 cannons? They've got this new mark 5 system that will do a hell of a lot more damage than those pea shooters will.  
  
"I dunno," said Fox, "The new armor and paint is definitely a must, as far guns we usually use the Arwings for superior firepower. Oh yea, speaking of which those will need new paint and repairs. Let's set a course for Corneria so we can go and get our stuff. Peppy you haven't said much, c'mon your chief navigator.Peppy?"  
  
Peppy did not respond because Peppy was sound asleep. "Poor geezer, o well forget it, we'll continue this tomorrow, ROB, set the coarse and lets all get some sleep.  
  
Everybody left except Krystal who was approaching Fox and Peppy who was still asleep. "Hey where am I going to stay?" she asked,  
  
"Well." Fox looked around, "I guess I'll just grab a seat like Peppy did or one of the small sofas in the lounge, and you can take my bed."  
  
"No that's ok; I'll stay with you in your room for tonight. Like I said before we really didn't get much of a chance to talk, and I would like to get to know you better."  
  
They both exited the bridge and started down the hall towards the lounge. "Krystal, how did you get involved in that situation on Dinosaur Planet?" Fox asked,  
  
"Well picked up a distress signal from the Earth Walkers so I went to the Krazoa Palace and that's when Andross trapped me in that crystal. So basically I just had to wait until my hero got me out." She said with a smile,  
  
Fox nodded "All of our rooms are outside the lounge, this one is my room." The door slid open with a hiss, they both walked in and Fox threw his vest and gloves on his desk chair, kicked his boots off and sat down on the bed with his feet up. Krystal took off her gilded armor and piled it neatly in the corner with her staff and lay next to him with her head on his shoulder.  
  
"So tell me about yourself Fox."  
  
"Well what do you want to know?"  
  
"How did you get into this.line of work?  
  
Fox let a sigh and he began the painful stroll through the bloodstained hallway of his life which he had tried to avoid for many years. It was a distinct kind of pain that he felt when remembering what happened, the kind that hurts from the inside and spreads through your whole body. He tried to hide it within himself, but anywhere he put it, it burned a hole and sooner or later it would consume him.  
  
"Well this all happened when I was about seven years old; and everything about my life until what I'm about to tell you was alright. I really don't want to get into any great detail but in any case my mother Vixy, died in an assassination attempt that was meant for my father. My father James McCloud was made the first captain of the StarFox team and was always my role model as I was growing up. Sadly, died three years after my mother on a mission to investigate activities on Venom concerning Andross. Peppy was also there as part as the team he and somehow made it out alive. Words can't describe the way I felt after hearing the demise of my father from Peppy, it was enough to make me sick. Peppy took me in and taught me everything he knew," he stopped for a moment and closed his eyes. "Revenge, yes that was it, revenge is what fueled me. I had to get even, I could not allow so much anguish that he has caused to so many to continue with impunity."  
  
Fox looked down at himself he hadn't told the story to himself in years. Nor had he told the story to another person; he only felt the effects of its sadness and pain.  
  
"How about you, tell me about your childhood," Fox said.  
  
"To tell you the truth," she began, "I don't remember mine that well at all. I know that I grew up on a planet not of this system called Cerinia. I lived there until I was probably around seven like you but, I don't remember my life on that much. Sometimes I have dreams about my childhood on the planet but it just doesn't seem to make sense, it's like the dreams are out of order. My last memory I have was that I woke up on another planet that wasn't Cerinia, but instead was what is commonly known as Dinosaur Planet."  
  
"Did any of the residents on the planet know anything of how you got there?"  
  
"No.I just sort of appeared there one day, when I turned fourteen I sort of stole a ship from that shop keeper and I used it to explore the galaxy. I returned to the planet after I picked up the distress signal.  
  
A tear streaked down the side of Krystal's cheek, Fox wiped it away with the back of his hand.  
  
"Krystal, I promise you once we get to Corneria and take care of business, you and I will find your answers."  
  
Krystal leaned in nudged him with her cheek, and then laid down next to him and went to sleep.  
  
"Fox, I've never had this conversation with anyone before, thanks," she murmured.  
  
"Same here," he replied closing his eyes and then drifting off to sleep.  
  
After that Fox didn't hurt so much on the inside. It was like a piece of a splinter had been pulled out of his heart, one small piece of a great one that has stabbed him for years.  
  
***  
  
Fox was suddenly awakened by the sound of a loud clang.  
  
"OWWWW, DAMN IT ROB THAT WAS MY FOOT!" Slippy had shouted with pain,  
  
"My apologies, I don't believe my coordination chip is functioning properly," ROB responded.  
  
Fox gave a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes, loud noises usually would wake him up abruptly like that. He glanced over at the clock, "7:35, pretty early for me," he thought to himself while looking over at Krystal who was apparently un-shaken by the commotion. After about a minute he was able to sluggishly pull himself out of bed, and so began the regular morning process. Wake up; examine self, brush teeth, shower and head to the galley for some chow.  
  
Fox entered the galley and was instantly greeted by his fellow teammates.  
  
"Morning sunshine did you sleep well?" Falco asked jokingly.  
  
"Wonderful dear," Fox responded in the same manner.  
  
"I'm not surprised, next to her who wouldn't."  
  
Krystal walked in gingerly and slapped Falco in the back of the head with her tail. "These ears do more than frame my face Falco," Falco let out a kind of embarrassed chuckle, "anything to eat around here?" she asked Fox.  
  
"Can you hold out for about forty-five minutes? We're going to enter Cornerian airspace, and when we land we'll go out for a real breakfast. But, if you're really hungry then help yourself to some pukpuk eggs I brought back from Dinosaur Planet." Fox thought for a second, "Oh yea that reminds me we're going to have to restock our food, just get one of those year long provisions," he said to Peppy, who gave a nod.  
  
"I'm going to let Pepper know that we're on our way so he'll have a docking bay ready for us. Hey Slip make sure you call up your dad and let him know he's going to have some work cut out for him," Peppy said getting out of his seat.  
  
"I'm already way ahead of you," Slippy replied back. "He said he'll be ready for us at any time in three days."  
  
"So are you going to eat now or later?" Fox said turning back to Krystal.  
  
"Uhhh.I think I'll wait."  
  
"Alright, coffee?"  
  
"Sure, cream and sugar if you don't mind."  
  
Fox got out of his seat and walked over to the coffee pot, poured Krystal and himself a cup, and grabbed some cream and sugar. Fox had returned and placed a cup and Krystal's condiments in front of her.  
  
"Thanks," she said.  
  
"I'm surprised you weren't completely starving when we got off of the planet, how long were you stuck in that thing?" Fox had asked her.  
  
"Well I don't know, what's the date?"  
  
Falco flipped open his PDA on his wrist and pulled up a calendar, "April 7th, 5019."  
  
Krystal thought for a moment, "Almost two weeks, wait a minute something is coming up soon that I haven't done in years."  
  
Fox and Falco looked at each other for a moment; Fox then looked back at Krystal "Birthday?" he said taking a guess.  
  
"Yea that's it; in nine days!" she said joyfully.  
  
"How old are you going to be?"  
  
"Twenty-three I think, it's been awhile.  
  
"Oh well we're going to have to go somewhere special that day then," he said grinning at her.  
  
Falco suddenly interrupted, "You said you were stuck in that thing for two weeks, how is that possible?"  
  
"It's hard to explain what happened, when I was first knocked in there I was able to look around and move a little. Then it kinda petrified me, I was mentally conscious but my heart didn't' beat, and I couldn't breathe. I could only think, I was wondering when I would get out and if I was going to die.  
  
"Hmm, interesting," Fox said, Falco just gave a nod.  
  
Just as Fox was about to say something ROB came over the intercom. "Attention! Attention! We are about to enter the atmosphere of Corneria, please dump all liquids and secure all loose objects. T-minus two minute and counting, all hands report to the bridge as quickly as possible!  
  
Everyone poured their coffee into the sink and put their cups in the dishwasher as quickly as possible. Fox and Krystal were the last ones to get up to the bridge. "Crap we only have five secure seats in the bridge and six people!" Falco said.  
  
"Everybody get to you seats!" Fox had shouted, the Great Fox was beginning to vibrate and a rumbling sound was getting louder. "Krystal take my seat!"  
  
"What are you going to do?" she asked.  
  
"Hold on for dear life, what else?"  
  
Fox grabbed the back of Krystal's seat, before Krystal was able to say anything else the Great Fox began to shake violently and a red flame could be seen on the wings. Fox was still standing but his was literally digging in the chair with his hands.  
  
"Fox would you mind not shaking my seat so much? You're going to make me sick," Krystal said looking up at Fox.  
  
"Oh sh-sh-sh-ut-ut.i-it," Fox had said clenching his teeth and his eyes closed.  
  
After almost three minutes of being shaken up more than a mixed drink, it was finally over and the Great Fox had entered the atmosphere with out any harm.  
  
"OH CRAP!" Fox had exclaimed, "This was my favorite chair, it was MY chair! Damn these claws." Fox looked at the top of the chair which he had such a death-grip on; he dug in with his claws and punctured the leather. Only thing everyone could do was laugh.  
  
Slippy unbuckled himself from his chair and said, "Well I guess we can chalk that up on your needs list." Slippy pulled out a pen and note pad out of his back pocket, "Let's see upgrades, repairs, and new captain's chair."  
  
"Is Pepper ready for us?" Falco asked.  
  
Peppy turned to Falco and said, "Yea he'll be ready for us and he said he'll treat us for he'll have a formal buffet for us when we get in."  
  
"To hell with formal; at least look half way decent, you know the drill flight suits and jackets," Fox said to his team.  
  
Krystal who was still sitting looked up at Fox and said, "Hey, you don't happen to have a change of clothes do you?"  
  
"Yea.you might some different attire since yours is a little too attention getting. I'll dig through my closet you can pick out what ever you want."  
  
Fox and Krystal both looked for something suitable for her to wear, eventually she picked out some khaki pants, a green T-shirt and Fox let her borrow his vest. Slippy gave her a pair of his old boots that were too small for him. Fox had left his room to let Krystal change and waited patiently for her in the lounge. After a minute or two she finally came out wearing what she had chosen for attire.  
  
"Do I look like.a guy?" she asked Fox with an almost puzzled look on her face.  
  
Fox chuckled to himself, "No of course not, you look like a part of the team."  
  
"Oh.well that's good.I guess"  
  
"Don't worry about it we'll get you some nice clothes eventually, c'mon were going to land soon." 


	2. Old Friends

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
CHAPTER 2 Old Friends  
  
The Great Fox flew up to the landing pad to the west of the hangers. They decided to land outside since all the indoor hangers were full. The massive ship flew over the landing pad hovered for a minute, and then slowly touched down, a perfect landing.  
  
Everyone met at the end of the take off runway. Slippy flipped a switch a platform dropped from the ceiling. Everyone got onto the platform; it was about 12 meters by 12 meters with a terminal standing up in the middle. Slippy pressed his hand against the computer screen in the console, there was a humming and slight vibration beneath their feet but stopped as soon as the platform picked up six inches off the ground. A hologram about a foot high then flickered on over the monitor; it was orange and cylindrical looking with a pale green bar about two inches wide in the middle. Slippy stuck his webbed hand into the middle of the green area which turned a red color signifying it was tracking movements. He raised his hand a little and the platform picked up higher off the ground, as he tilted his had forward it began to move out of the Great Fox towards the light of the open runway. The platform touched down and Slippy deactivated the anti-gravity platform by pressing his hand against the monitor again. Everybody got off including Slippy who was smiling happily at his new invention.  
  
"You definitely over pride yourself with this toy of yours," Falco said with a raised eyebrow.  
  
You definitely over pride yourself with your kill record," Slippy retorted.  
  
"Touché," Falco said arrogantly, he knew he was right about that.  
  
Just then twelve an armed Cornerian guards approached the team in two single file lines. "Ah, good to see you again StarFox," the squad leader said and then quickly saluting the team along with the rest of his squad behind him. "General Pepper has been expecting you for quite a while."  
  
"As you were gentlemen, keep this junky old bird safe for me will ya?" said Fox who was pleased to finally get some respect.  
  
"Would you like us to escort you to the General's quarter's sir?" he then asked.  
  
"No thanks guys, we know the way around."  
  
"Very well then sir, we'll stay at our posts," the squad leader said.  
  
And with that, they left the soldiers guarding the Great Fox, and started towards the entrance of head quarters. Falco and Slippy were bickering over something; Fox wasn't paying much attention to it. Krystal who was in back of the group ran up to Fox who was leading the pack.  
  
"Are you like famous here or something?" she asked.  
  
"Well I guess you might say that, eight years ago I defeated Andross for the first time and ended the first Lylat war, my team and were considered as heroes."  
  
Krystal and Fox talked for the rest of the way up to Peppers office where everyone entered. Pepper's office was large; he had an oak desk with papers stacked up that seemed as if they had been there for days. Something important was definitely on his mind because it wasn't like him to leave stuff lying around. Pepper was staring out his window at the Great Fox smoking a cigar; he quickly turned around to greet the team. "StarFox, I've been expecting you! The press wants a report on what happened over there," Fox shook Pepper's hand.  
  
"It's too bad I'm not going to talk to them, here is my report: There was a social struggle over power taking place on the planet. The original ruling tribe was restored to power and General Scales; the leader of the extremist group was killed."  
  
"I'll have my secretary make a note of it, but for now enough of the work and lets get some breakfast," Pepper then turned to Krystal. "Who is this?"  
  
"This is my friend Krystal; I kind of saved her life back on Dinosaur Planet. She and I will need your help; she is looking her planet which may be outside of this solar system."  
  
"I'll do what I can when I get my other obligations out of the way." Pepper walked over to his door and opened it motioning everyone to follow him down to the mess hall.  
  
The mess hall wasn't a mess hall at all it was actually quite nice, and decorated with banners of the Cornerian army. The food was actually good compared to what Fox had been eating since he was last here. Everyone ate hungrily especially Krystal who was dieing for food this morning but didn't want to be burden on anyone. Pepper stopped eating for a moment and dabbed his mouth with his napkin.  
  
"I've been meaning to tell you guys what's been going on down here the past couple of months with our secret weapons division." Everyone abruptly stopped eating and looked up at Pepper, except for Krystal who was enjoying her second helping of tuna. "We have been working on a stealth equipped aircraft that we would like to primarily use for spying on Venom. It's been quiet there for years, almost too quiet; so we're sending your old friend Bill to try it out and do a little reconnaissance for us.  
  
"Wow I haven't seen Bill in ages!" Fox thought to himself  
  
"So what's it called? Can we go check this thing out later?" Slippy piped up.  
  
"I've decided to call it." Pepper paused for a moment to act more dramatic. "The Spectral Wraith, and yes, you can go see it. It's in hanger echo 7, I'll give you clearance when you get down there."  
  
Falco shoved the rest of his breakfast into his beak and swallowed hard. "Well I'm done I'll see you guys down there," and immediately jumped out of his seat and ran out the door.  
  
"Me too!" Slippy said shooting out of his chair.  
  
"Speaking of ships I just remembered," Fox turned to Krystal, who had cleaned her plate.  
  
"Do you still want that Sharp Claw transport? I don't like having that thing on my ship and anywhere you go with it don't expect a warm welcome."  
  
"Well what will I have to fly around in if I have to leave for some reason?" she asked.  
  
"Hey your birthday is coming up isn't it? I tend to be very generous to people I care about around their birthdays; so shall we?"  
  
Krystal giggled at his courteousness, "We shall, and you can scrap the transport," she said looping her arm around Fox's.  
  
Fox smiled back at her, "Thanks for the chow Pepper; I gotta go say hi to an old friend.  
  
Slippy, Falco, Fox, and Krystal all exited leaving Peppy behind, "I swear they all have anxiety disorders," Peppy said shaking his head.  
  
Pepper let out a roaring laugh, "Oh to be young again."  
  
Falco and Slippy had gotten down to the hanger a lot quicker than Fox and Krystal had. The Spectral Wraith hovered elegantly in the middle of the hanger; it had the new and advanced G-diffuser systems which ran on themselves making landing gear unnecessary. The ship was slightly larger than an Arwing; it was painted all black except for some parts of the boosters and the two windows on the cockpit which were a dark red. "Probably for thermal scanning and advanced navigation," Fox thought to himself. The body of the ship was shaped like a large diamond with two wings protruding from the sides and arcing downwards. On the tip of each wing was one black and chrome Starlight Excel Plus engine. The engines were shaped almost like ovals with a lot of vents used for keeping the engines running silent.  
  
The next thing Fox noticed was his old friend Bill Grey standing in front of the ship. Fox thought about how he should present himself to Bill who was bragging to other pilots.  
  
Fox turned to the rest of his team, "Watch this," he said as he turned away and began to jog towards Bill. He slowly picked up speed until he was at a full run and about five feet from Bill. Bill turned suddenly to see what was charging him but it was too late. BAM! Fox made a perfect tackle and had Bill pinned to the ground.  
  
"OW! WHAT THE? You son of a bitch." Bill said calmly as he threw Fox off of him and waved the other pilots away.  
  
The other pilots Bill was just talking with earlier were staring dumb-faced at each other before shrugging and walking off. Fox laughed hysterically as he rolled off of Bill, "You should of seen the look on you face; the perfect way to greet your best friend since preschool!"  
  
Bill was also laughing so hard he could have blacked out from lack of oxygen, but the two pals later able to control themselves and get back up on their feet. Bill threw his arm around Fox's shoulder as they walked to where everyone else was standing bewildered on why Fox had just speared Bill.  
  
"You know I think I should be the one spearing you dude, what's it been like, a year and I get no word from ya, the hell ya been doin this whole time? Bill asked poking Fox in the chest.  
  
"Oh just the usual mercenary stuff, helping one group and getting paid for getting rid of another," Fox responded.  
  
"Bill! It's been a while," Slippy said shaking Bill's hand.  
  
"Hey Slip, how's it going?" Bill responded to Slippy.  
  
"Good to see you again Bill, still a slave for General Pepper?" Falco asked Bill with a smug look on his face.  
  
"No actually, and I'll gladly kick your ass again in the simulators big guy, let's see if you learned anything before you seemed to have come crawling back to Fox.  
  
Falco just leered at Bill who had just turned his attention to the lovely blue vixen who was standing beside Fox, "And uh.who might you be?"  
  
"Oh, my name is Krystal; it's a pleasure to meet you," she said holding out her hand.  
  
"No, the pleasure is all mine," Bill was shaking her hand for a prolonged amount of time and starring as if he had no brain.  
  
Fox interrupted, "You're lucky I can't see through those shades, cause if your eyes aren't level with hers I'll knock your teeth out!"  
  
"Huh, I know man I know; c'mon lets get let's get the hell out of here; I want to enjoy my last six hours here before the mission."  
  
"Wait," Fox stopped him, "you're leaving for the mission today?"  
  
"Yeah Pepper didn't tell you the details?" Bill said looking over his shoulder, Fox shook his head no. "Alright let's just go to one of my favorite hang out spots and I'll fill you in."  
  
Fox, Bill, Krystal, Slippy, and Falco all left the hanger and the hovering wonder. For a while Fox and Bill just lead the group around and taking frequent glimpses at the shades of each-others past. Bill wanted to take his mind off of his work for awhile and decided he would tell Fox what he would be doing with the Spectral Wraith later. Stopping from place to place saying things like, "Hey remember when we were last here?" also, "Oh man this is the place where we." and other such things. They felt like they were reliving the past all over again taking Krystal for the ride and leaving Falco and Slippy bored out of their skulls. Krystal was having fun for just walking around and talking with all of them she was very interested in what this planet had to offer. This went on for hours at a time, until about two o'clock and nobody had eaten anything. Bill decided it would be appropriate for him and the rest of the gang to go to his favorite bar and grill before he had to leave. The place was called The Next Nirvana, it was a nice place, and they had good music and good food what more could you want? It was a well-known hang out place for most canines, but it wasn't uncommon to see others besides canines there. Pepper and Peppy where sitting in a large booth in the corner of the restaurant half smoking their cigars.  
  
"Mind if we join you, old timers?" Fox said, even though he was always calling Peppy an old timer and a geezer he still had a lot of respect for him.  
  
"Sure the more the merrier, take a load off!" General Pepper said making room for his guests and extinguishing his cigar.  
  
Krystal took a seat next to Fox, Bill sat across from him and Slippy and Falco filled in wherever there was room. Bill exchanged pleasantries with Peppy because he hadn't seen him down in the hanger, a waitress came around and took orders minutes later and left.  
  
"So do you feel like talking yet?" Fox asked Bill.  
  
Bill let out a tired sigh, "Well, what I'll be doing is just going into Venom's atmosphere and just flying around using advanced scanning and imaging just too see if they are plotting anything. I'll be looking for hangers, weapon caches, bunkers, and other military type installations. If you've taken out Andross like Pepper was telling me earlier we should have no problem with him except for a few 'neo-nazi' types which will be disposed of at a later date."  
  
Everyone had an impressed look on their face, especially Fox, Falco chuckled at him. "Sounds like you got your work cut out for you," Fox said.  
  
"Yea well it'll be fun using all of this new state-of-the-art equipment, especially the ship. I told you about all the spying gizmos on it which is pretty cool but it has no warp drive, weapon system, or transmitters. All of which could easily tip off the Venomians and then it wouldn't be much of a stealth craft now would it? The twin engines are really a piece of work, I'll be able to hit mach three in almost three seconds if I wanted to but hopefully there won't be any need for such a fast escape."  
  
"Wait a minute," Slippy said, "You said there's no warp drive, how long is it going to take for you to get there?"  
  
Bill thought for a minute trying to recall what his mission dossier had said about the time and trip distance. "Well.I think it will be an eight day trip there and back, and two days of wet work."  
  
"Sounds uhh.." Fox began, "Boring!" Falco had finished for him, Fox shot him a glare.  
  
Bill shrugged, when suddenly and idea popped into his head. "Hey, I just remembered she's been made to seat two, wanna go for a ride?" he asked Fox.  
  
"Sorry man, I got things I need to take care of down here," Fox said.  
  
The waitress had returned with the food that they had ordered. Bill was known well there being his favorite restaurant so he got a large helping of food. Fox and Krystal had both ordered the same thing; Fox's mouth watered savoring the smell of smoked salmon. Fox looked over his left shoulder and took his plate almost dropping it when he did a double take of what he saw. He squinted, almost certain that his eyes had deceived him; there was a girl, a cat, sitting all alone at the bar with a look of sorrow upon her face.  
  
Falco was looking down at his plate when Fox spoke to him, "Falco look over my left shoulder and look hard."  
  
"What is it that I'm looking for?" he replied.  
  
"No my left, your right."  
  
Falco leaned to the other side; Falco almost knew what Fox was talking about when he saw it. His eyes widened with disbelief, he looked almost like someone gave him a swift kick in the chest, "Katt." he said silently to himself. 


	3. Reminisce and Remorse

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
CHAPTER 3 Reminisce and Remorse  
  
Bill turned around to see what the two were talking about although he almost knew right off from the start. He had seen her there often, always sitting in the same location, always longing more to see Falco again; it was almost a daily occurrence.  
  
"Oh yea Katt man, she is missing you like hell," Bill said looking at Katt for a brief moment and back at Falco who was staring down at his reflection in his beer. "What the hell are you waiting for man? Get over there and talk to her!" Bill exclaimed.  
  
Falco sill did not reply his head locked in deep thought of his emotions, what he should feel in front of her, how he should act and such. Maybe he shouldn't even go over there at all; maybe he should just walk out on her and ignore a childhood friend. No, he could never do that to her, he was utterly torn apart. He looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and looked back down.  
  
He could almost hear her voice again so many years ago, he lived on Corneria with his parents as an only child; he didn't have many friends during the early years of his life. Katt had always been a close friend of his but-  
  
Falco's thoughts were interrupted by Fox, "That's it, if you're going to sit here like you don't care about anything I'm going to bring her over here."  
  
Fox got up and walked over to the bar and sat down on the stool next to hers. Falco watched from a distance as Katt suddenly sprung up from her seat and gave Fox a hug, he wondered if she had seen him in here before in the bar already. That would make him look really bad, but no she couldn't have seen him. Knowing her and her hyper flamboyant attitude she would have ran over to him. Her face lit up and immediately looked over to the table and saw Falco, she ran over just as he anticipated. He knew how to act now, hide behind the wall of arrogance and never let your true feelings show; he wondered why he had to act like that.  
  
Falco stood up to meet her, she hugged Falco hard, pinning his arms to his sides and nearly crushing his rib cage. "Oop, can you loosen your death grip a bit?"  
  
"Falco! Oh my god I've missed you so much where have you been this whole time?" She exclaimed while allowing him to breathe a little.  
  
"Just cruising around and living up life outside of rules," he said virtuously; everyone looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Oh c'mon Falco, tell us where you really were and what you were doing!" Katt said.  
  
"Oh alright, I'm only going to say this once, and it's a good thing you're all here. Okay first, the reason I took off isn't because I hate any of you, it was just because I saw our business going down the tubes. So I just decided to seek a more profitable line of work, and that's all you need to know."  
  
"What, that's it?" Bill shouted  
  
"Yea pretty much, so what have you been up to; I thought you lived of Zoness," Falco said to Katt trying desperately to change the subject.  
  
"Oh please, that place is a crap hole!" she said waving a paw at him.  
  
"So I take it you stay here?"  
  
"Yea I've got my self an apartment in the lower district. I've been saving up money since the first Lylat War in hope to finally get off that dump; no good work there."  
  
"So what about your folks?"  
  
"They decided to stay on Zoness; they never told me why, I guess they just liked it there better than Corneria."  
  
Falco was trying to remember what it was like growing up with her. She didn't always live on Zoness, she used in the lower districts of Corneria City, actually across the street from Falco. The city was composed of three main districts each one a regarded ones class, they didn't have a name they were just called lower, middle, and upper. Lower was a bad name for it although it was the poorest of the districts; it wasn't dirty and disgusting but instead just average living complexes and schools. Next came Middle, it was an upper class region well known for its snobs, business corporations, and well-known colleges. Last was the Upper district which was mostly the Headquarters for the Cornerian army, and other political buildings like the senate.  
  
Falco tried to remember what she used to look like that long ago, she was shorter and immature but her personality never changed. The Lombardi family and the Monroe family never got along well, probably because they were just natural enemies. It was hard for them to be with each other, Falco's father especially didn't like it when he was with Katt. They had to resort to sneaking out at night, the internet, and telephone for communication between them. Whenever they got caught hanging out or talking, they would have to act like they hated one another; Katt might have to pretend to cry and runaway or something, Falco hated seeing her do that. Falco's father caught him holding hands with her once; he got the beating of his life. "That could explain why I can't ever act like I'm happy to see her, Damn you dad! You forced my feelings of love and happiness for others out of my life; I'll never forgive you for that!" He silently thought to himself, he never talked to Katt about why her family decided to move onto Zoness back then; he figured it was just too painful for her.  
  
"Hey isn't about time someone gets back to work?" Pepper said looking at Bill.  
  
Bill let out a sigh after looking at his watch, "You know, I really wish I could just tell you to go to hell but unfortunately I have respect for authority."  
  
"I can understand that," Pepper said as everyone was getting up.  
  
"Ah the beauty of being your own boss," Fox said stretching as he got up; Bill gave him a shot in arm. Fox laughed at him as he paid for everyone's meal on his charge card.  
  
Pepper, Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, Fox, and Bill all got up and left after saying goodbye to Katt. Falco told them that he would catch up with them in a minute.  
  
"Listen Katt, I'm sorry I made you worry so much; I promise we'll do something sometime later."  
  
Katt smiled, gave him a hug, and kissed him lightly on the side of his beak. "Don't worry; I'll make sure you stay true to your promise."  
  
"Alright cut it out, I'll see you later."  
  
"Goodbye Falco," she said smiling at him.  
  
Everyone went home except for Fox and Krystal who had decided to watch Bill take off at the hanger. It wasn't like it was far away or anything; the others must just have had some better things to do. Fox stood next Krystal as Bill ignited the monstrous engines on the Spectral Wraith; he gave Fox a wave which he returned with a quick two-finger salute. The ship blazed silently out of the hanger and tore into the air then disappearing into the sunset in a few seconds. Fox frowned and looked at his feet; Krystal saw the look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
Fox shook his head, "It's funny, he's always been my closest friend but nowadays it's as if we can't be in the same place for more than a few hours."  
  
"Well at least you'll have me," she said putting her arm around him.  
  
Fox picked his head up smiling at her, put his arm around her waist and together they walked back to the Great Fox. It wasn't until that moment Fox began to think, "Maybe I should consider her a little more than a friend, perhaps even a girlfriend? Only time will tell." 


	4. Work to Be Done

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
CHAPTER 4 Work to Be Done  
  
It was three days later; Fox had taken Krystal out to a couple of clothing stores and let her pick out some new threads. She seemed to like clothes that resembled the uniforms worn by the Starfox team. She wasn't a fan of the 'in thing' attire; it was possible that she wanted to look like part of the group, to blend in. Black T-shirts, vests, some short shorts, and khakis were what she had chosen and she really did look good in it.  
  
They were prepared to take the Great Fox to Slippy's father's shop. Fox forgot a lot about Slippy's father, his name was Trent according to his memory; it's been a long time since the last time he's seen him. Trent's shop was located on the outskirts of the Middle district, it didn't look like the kind of place for Class A repairs but looks can be deceiving. For a huge machine shop with several hangers of different sizes the place looked rather run down, Trent depended on his reputation of good service more than the pretty face he could put on his business. The Great Fox lifted off from where it was docked at the HQ Cornerian Army and maneuvered into one of the largest machine shops. The hanger was bustling with technicians and other mechanics; when it was in the middle of the shop four large machines clipped large circular bolts about five meters in diameter onto the front, back, and all four sides of the ship. Six electrodes looking a little like giant forks shot out electric beams which immediately immobilized the ship. ROB shut down all systems on the Great Fox which would allow the technicians and mechanics to get to work as soon as possible.  
  
Everyone including ROB this time rode the platform down onto the floor of the hanger, a lot of the employees would give a nod to the team, and several could have been looking at Krystal. Slippy stopped a pit bull and asked him where his father was, the dog told him that he was on his way here now and would be arriving shortly. Just then Trent pulled up on a transport, and smiled when he saw his son, Fox's memory was completely jarred and he immediately remembered everything about him. Trent was very big and very muscular for a toad; he was rugged looking and his hands were stained with grease. He was a lot larger than Slippy that was for sure and his voice was a lot deeper which made it look like he wasn't Slippy's father at all.  
  
"C'mere ya little runt," Trent called to Slippy, who was already running up to him. Slippy threw his arms around his father, "How've you been sport?"  
  
"I've been great dad, how's the shop doing?" he asked.  
  
"We're doing fine, your mother's up in the office so make sure you go and say hi," Trent let his son go racing up the stairs in the back of the hanger to the office.  
  
"So Fox, finally feel it's time to get this flying scrap heap a real makeover," Trent said.  
  
"Yea I've actually been meaning to do some work on her earlier, but I wouldn't have been able to afford anything worth while. Did Slippy contact you on what I would like to have done?"  
  
"Yes he did, I have everything planned out and I have ready anything else you would like to do with her."  
  
"Ok sounds good, I'm leaving you with Slippy he'll be in charge of everything that else that goes down. I would like to have both mine and Falco's Arwings repaired and any possible upgrades installed. Falco wants to know if it would be possible to anything regarding additional or increased fire power on her. Oh yes one more thing," he said quietly so Krystal wasn't able to hear, "I want you to build me another Arwing, since I'm planning on making recruitment."  
  
Trent raised his eyebrows, "Damn boy Slippy never mentioned any of this! Ok I'll do all this for you because I'm a nice guy, and you're lucky I grew up with your father. Just one thing, weapons I don't touch you'll have to talk to one of my technicians who has some background in armaments and military hardware." A raccoon wearing some dark orange shooting glasses was walked by the staircase. "Hey Scott get over here a minute!" Trent called out to him; he looked over to Trent then casually walked over to him and the group. "This is the guy I was telling you about he'll handle your any of your laser or cannon upgrades you need.  
  
Fox shook hands with Scott before yelling to Falco. "Hey Falco get over here a minute!" Falco was slow to respond; he didn't like being treated as errand boy or pet even though he wasn't. "You wanted guns right? Well here's the guy to talk to, go and flirt." Falco also shook hands with the weapons expert, and walked over to the front of the ship describing what he would like to see done."  
  
"Who is this by the way?" Trent said looking at Krystal who was standing behind Fox unlike Peppy who was off putting around somewhere probably picking up thing and looking at things he shouldn't.  
  
"This is Krystal she is a very good friend of mine," Fox said introducing her.  
  
Trent pulled a rag out of his back pocket and wiped off his hands which were stilled covered in grease. "How do you do?" Krystal said laughing inside to herself.  
  
"Yea I know what you're thinking; how can I possibly be Slippy's father?" Fox snickered to himself; Trent said the same thing to every new person he met. "I'm a hell of a lot bigger than he is and I definitely sound quite different than he does. Pretty sure that he got all of his physical features from his mother, and his mechanical talents from me. But his voice, that's a story; he must have been around five or six when it happened. The boy was always very mischievous, much like Fox at that age, mischievous, but not to smart; well he found some new engine coolant on my desk, and he kind of.drank it." At this point Fox couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, Krystal looked over her shoulder at him absolutely baffled; Trent started up again. "The surgeons were able to pump all of that junk out of his system before it was able to do any serious damage to him, but there was no saving his vocal chords. They were shot beyond all repairs, it's almost sad; that got rid of all his curiosity for trying new things, especially drinks." Trent let out a sigh and shook his head with a smile on his face; no matter what he was still very proud of the boy he had raised. Krystal still stood there with a look of disbelief on her face.  
  
"Well.I uh. suppose that does explain a lot." She said looking over at Fox who was still snickering at Slippy's young misfortune.  
  
A whiny voice spoke out from behind Trent "Dad! Are you telling that story again? C'mon you embarrass me in front of everyone I know!"  
  
"Bah! Get a sense of humor Slip!" Trent said back to him.  
  
"Slippy I'm leaving you to take care of everything that goes down in here from now on; I've got a promise to keep," Fox said to Slippy before turning to Krystal who was looking at him curiously.  
  
Fox and Krystal said their goodbyes to Trent and the rest of the team before exiting the Great Fox's hanger and borrowing one of Tents hover cars.  
  
"I haven't driven in a long time, it's all been flying around, shooting things, and fighting, hopefully I haven't lost my touch." Fox said to Krystal, as they were walking over to one of the more expensive cars.  
  
"What exactly do you have in mind for keeping your promise?" Krystal asked him.  
  
"Well there is this place Peppy took me once when I was eighteen, it's almost like a museum dedicated to the exploration and science of the universe. I think it called The Celestial Sciences and Planetary Archives. So typically we're going to try to find this planet of yours."  
  
The ride there wasn't bad; Fox could still almost drive as almost as good as he could pilot. Krystal was constantly making comments on how he was having such a hard time finding where to go even though it was his home planet. After about the third time of stopping and asking for directions, Fox had finally found his way to the archives. The place was very old, but it looked new because it was a place of such historical importance. The structure seemed to be made out of a marble like material and was decorated with emblems which stood for different planets in the Lylat system; Venom of coarse was not included.  
  
Celestial Sciences and Planetary Archives was even larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. There were individual computers with holographic projectors, large bookcase looking shelves that reached the fifty foot ceiling, and were piled with data disks containing information. Buzzing around the giant bookcases were hovering robots which would fetch data disks and bring them to the computer at which they were requested. Fox went up to the front desk and paid admission for two. Krystal noticed on the inside of his vest that Fox still carried his gun with him.  
  
"Do you carry that thing with you everywhere you go?"  
  
Fox looked down seeing that his blaster was a little exposed from his vest and quickly zipped it up. "I like to think of it as insuring public protection," he said with a nervous smile. "Here take a look at this," Fox said moving a chair for Krystal to sit down at in front of one of the computers. "Ok what you've got here is basically a giant search engine, try typing in the name of your planet and see what comes up. If you think it's what you need, select it and a drone will bring it here for you."  
  
"Convenient," she said  
  
"It is, isn't it? Here play around for a bit and learn something I gotta step outside for a minute to make a phone call."  
  
"Ok try to get back before I end up screwing something up though."  
  
Fox gave her a wink, walked out the front door, and sat down on a bench next to the entrance. He flipped open his PDA and made a hailed Peppy from it.  
  
"What's wrong Fox, lost again?" Peppy said when his face appeared on the PDA  
  
"No we made it ok, call Falco and Slippy over so they can hear too," Fox replied. It wasn't long before Slippy and Falco's faces popped up next to Peppy.  
  
"What do you want Fox? You're tearing me away from my work," Slippy whined.  
  
"You mean your dads work right?" Slippy's eyes narrowed, "Alright listen up I want to know all of your opinions on this. As you all know, there are four members of the StarFox team and only Falco and I are active pilots."  
  
"What's your point? Falco asked seeming uninterested.  
  
"I'm getting to that, I don't think we'll work well with only two pilots, I would like to have at least three and I want to know what you would think if I asked Krystal to join.  
  
There was a silence between everyone; they looked at each others facial responses. "Sure I'm all for it!" Slippy said.  
  
"Well we'll have to train her and all, but what the hell I don't see a problem with it," Peppy said nodding his head, Falco still remained silent.  
  
"What do think Falco?" Peppy said over to Falco  
  
"You just really like her don't you, I'd rather recruit someone who has some background in flight combat," Falco said  
  
"Well yes that is part of the reason, and she must have some background in flight since she was able to pilot that Sharp Claw transport with out crashing, but I don't doubt she's had any combat experience though," Fox replied.  
  
"Fine then do what you want, you ARE the captain," Falco said before walking off.  
  
"Peppy tell Falco I said thanks; and we're going to need a uniform in her size, a pair of wings, a gun, and tell Trent we'll need that Arwing in six days."  
  
"I think I see where you are going with this, birthday present I assume?  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
"I hope she says yes."  
  
"I hope so too," Fox said closing his PDA and walking back into the building. He saw Krystal still sitting at the same computer where he had left her, but this time she had a disappointed look on her face.  
  
"You don't look very happy with what you found," Fox said putting his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"What I found was absolutely nothing except this," she said holding up one data disc.  
  
"Let me take a look at it," she handed it to him and he stuck it into the drive, basic information about the planet came up. It's climate, the organisms that had lived their which was only Krystal's race. After that the records just stop, almost as if the planet ceased to exist, and its original location was nowhere to be found. Krystal removed the disc and shoved it into one of the pockets on her black vest as she and Fox were walking out of the building.  
  
"I'm sorry you couldn't find anything today; it just takes time, something will happen and you'll find it," Fox said putting a reassuring arm around her. Krystal still said nothing and looked at the ground. "Hey," he staid stopping for a moment and picking her head up to look her in the eyes, "Just never lose faith."  
  
She smiled then hugged him tightly, "As long as you're here to help me, I won't"  
  
"How cute, he found himself a girlfriend," it thought quickly making its way, yet blending in with the bustling crowd on the street walk. The figure was dressed in black attire; it was a long trench coat that reached down to the back of its legs. The coat was also included a hood which it had pulled over its head concealing its identity. "Alright, keep cool almost there," Fox and Krystal were walking side by side; making them both an easy target; "Wait for it, wait for it, aaaannnd NOW!" It bumped hard between Fox and Krystal, causing Fox to lose his balance, and knock Krystal over.  
  
"Hey watch where your going you prick!" Fox called out to whoever knocked Krystal off her feet and helped her up at the same time. "Why do you take something like that?"  
  
"I dunno," she said brushing herself off, "it's just a common thing nowadays for people to be so thoughtless." She looked down at her vest and felt inside the pocket; her fingers came out the bottom of a hole about four inches wide. "Hey, my disc; that bastard stole it!" Fox whipped around quickly hoping to catch the thief but to no avail, the mysterious pickpocket was nowhere to be seen. 


	5. Faint Hearted

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
CHAPTER 5 Faint-Hearted  
  
On the night of her birthday Krystal couldn't find peace in her sleep at all. It had been like this a couple nights before, but that this was by far the worst. The questions of her origins and her parents racked her brain throughout the night. Along with the question of who that stranger was who robbed the only source of information of her planet from her. It wasn't until five AM of constant tossing and turning was she able to get any real sleep at all.  
  
She awoke without the pounding headache she was having around dawn which had pleased her. She rolled out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes from a neat pile in the corner of Fox's room. She opened the door to find Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, and Katt all turning their heads to the lethargic vixen in the doorway.  
  
"There's our birthday girl!" Fox said first.  
  
"What time is it?" She asked rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Almost twelve thirty, how do sleep that long?" Slippy asked.  
  
"Yea I know, all that goddamn noise going on outside usually has me up around seven," Falco said agreeing for once with Slippy.  
  
"It's known as 'beauty sleep' something the two of you obviously wouldn't know anything about," Katt said in defense to Krystal.  
  
Krystal yawned sat down on the couch next to Fox resting her head against his shoulder. "Well what are we going to do special today?"  
  
"First of all I hope you are not too tired, because this is from all of us," Peppy said handing her an envelope.  
  
She tore it open and exposed its contents which didn't look like much except two ordinary credit cards. "Awww, your not going to let me leech off of your wallet anymore Fox?"  
  
"Maybe for today only, but there's a good five-hundred on that one; the other one is a gift certificate to a designer of elegant dresses that Katt had recommended. The plan of attack is you are going to take Katt and go to that place to pick up something for tonight."  
  
"Can I have to ask what's up for tonight?" Krystal asked him.  
  
"Well it was going to be a surprise but, I'll tell you now. Since Falco is such a thoughtful, kind, and generous person; he's making me say this by the way; was able to get us these tickets," Fox said pulling two tickets out of the pocket on the inside of his vest. "They are tickets to the Oceanic Cruise of Jazz, basically a really classy boat ride around the waters of Corneria."  
  
"Thank you, you are all so very sweet!" Krystal said to everyone.  
  
"What are you doing still hanging around here? C'mon girl we gotta get you ready for the night of your life!" Katt said, and then two ecstatic girls rushed out of the lounge.  
  
"You know she really didn't seem very sleep deprived after that at all," Peppy said getting up.  
  
"Oh she'll just have to wait and see what she has in store for her tonight, are the preparations in order?" Fox asked looking while glancing around.  
  
"We are go," Slippy said giving a thumbs up.  
  
"Excellent," Fox with a devious look on his face. "Peppy I'm going to need your opinion on a new outfit; I too would like to dress nice for the occasion."  
  
***  
  
Krystal and Katt were at the designer dress shop, and had Krystal was having a hard time picking out what she would like to wear.  
  
"I don't know," Krystal began looking at one of the dresses. "I really want to this to be a good night and everything to work out perfectly for both of us."  
  
"Oh I see how it is girl," Katt said giving her a nudge on the arm.  
  
"What, I'm just trying to make a good impression on him that's all."  
  
"Yea that and you like him don't you."  
  
"Of coarse I like him, he saved my life and he's nice guy, what's not to like?"  
  
"No, what I mean is you REALLY like him, you love him don't you?" Krystal blushed and looked down trying to hide her smile. "Hey there's nothing wrong with it, I mean it's obvious, just about as obvious as how much he likes you.  
  
Krystal looked back up still trying to hide her smile, "Do you think so?"  
  
"Of coarse; trust me on this, if he didn't want you hanging around you wouldn't want to be. Nor would you like him the way you do now if he didn't show any affection towards you."  
  
Krystal could no longer hide her smile, "Do you think.he'll ask me to.you know, date him?" Krystal asked.  
  
"Tonight might be the lucky night girl!" Katt said winking at her.  
  
"Oh I've been meaning to ask you, what's up with you and Falco?"  
  
Katt's facial expression changed, "Oh well it's just I've known him for a long time and are families never got along with each other."  
  
"I'm sorry, is this a touchy subject? Forget I asked."  
  
"No it's ok really, it's just that.I don't know if you could tell or not but.I'm in love with him. And.I think he loves me as well but.I just can't tell.  
  
"Have you told him how you feel about him?"  
  
"No I can't, I'm afraid of what might happen if I do, I'm afraid that if he even likes me at all he won't anymore."  
  
Krystal was now able to understand how their relationship worked; it sounded very different than the one she might have with Fox. "Ok I think I see, you just want to wait everything out hoping that he'll be the one to make the first move."  
  
"Right," Katt picked her head up a little, "Thanks Krystal it's nice having another woman around to talk to."  
  
***  
  
Fox was having almost the same amount of trouble, asking Krystal join the team might be hard, but asking her to date him might be even more troublesome. Fox looked into the mirror with Peppy checking out the suit he had on.  
  
He sighed deeply straightening his tie, "I don't know if I'll be able to do it Peppy, I know what I would like to say but can't quite say it to her."  
  
"There's only one thing you can do," Fox curiously back at Peppy, "JUST SPIT IT OUT DAMMIT!" Peppy's sudden burst of encouragement startled Fox; it wasn't everyday you take advice on girls from a forty-nine year old hare.  
  
"That was explosive; c'mon I mean you saw me around her when she first came on the ship. I was just so stunned to see, her and I made a fool out of myself."  
  
Peppy laughed to himself, "Don't worry about it Fox, I'm sure she will join the team if you asked her, and I'm sure she will be more than eager to date you."  
  
"Yea that's great Peppy but my point is how am I going to ask her? I've never been exceptionally well around girls; I'm just someone who is good at his job.  
  
"Well whatever you've been doing or saying to her she seems attracted to you. I mean wake up Fox, you'd have to be ignorant to not see how she acts around you."  
  
Fox looked down at himself and then smiled and slammed his fist into his palm. "Ok Pep I'll do it, I'll ask her join, and then I'll ask her out.  
  
"There you go see, all it takes is a little bit of confidence."  
  
***  
  
Fox found himself looking in another mirror several hours later; this one was in the bathroom of his cabin. He couldn't help but notice the new feeling that possessed him. It didn't hurt and he never got it very often; he had it while flying into Andross's bunker to confront him for the first time but it was still somewhat different. He wore his newly purchased black dress shirt with a gold colored tie, some dark green dress pants with his matching diner jacket hanging on a hook behind him. He looked pretty good it was even though it seemed a little uncommon for him to be out of his jumpsuit.  
  
"Hurry up you before you're the one who everybody is waiting on!" Falco said barging into his bathroom, he saw Fox starring hard at himself in the mirror. "What's wrong, have you got butterflies?"  
  
Fox turned around and gave him a cold glance, "Falco you are probably one of the worst of us to take advice on girls from."  
  
"Worse than Slippy?" Fox paused for a moment, "thought so, crap out whatever it is that's bothering you and just go and get her man."  
  
Fox exhaled heavily and took his jacket off of its hook and flung it over his shoulder and casually walked out of his room and stood sat on the edge of one of the couches in the lounge.  
  
Although it seemed like an eternity to Fox, Krystal finally came out of Falco's room which she had borrowed to change in. She was dressed in a silk black dress and kept her emerald necklace on giving her the qualities of a goddess.  
  
That feeling came back to Fox once again, this time in full force, "Wow, you look absolutely beautiful!"  
  
Krystal smiled at the complement she had just received, "And you look very hansom; black, green, and yellow are definitely your colors."  
  
She walked up and started patting the front of his chest and above his left hip, Fox looked puzzled, "What are you doing?"  
  
"No gun this time?"  
  
"Oh," he chuckled, "nope, no guns and gadgets for today, just you, me, and our lovely evening all under the stars."  
  
She looped her arm around his as they made their way out of the Great Fox. 


	6. Bolts from the Blue

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
CHAPTER 6 Bolts from the Blue  
  
It truly was a beautiful night in the middle district, no clouds, full moon. a paradise. Fox and Krystal had decided to walk to the harbor where the boat awaited them. The boat looked like a large yacht painted white with a large black stripe containing, "Oceanic Cruise of Jazz" lettered in gold. As they drew near the sound of musicians jamming away on their instruments grew louder. A penguin dressed in a black tuxedo, took their tickets and welcomed them onto the boat; another carrying two menus led them to the table they already had reserved. Fox moved one of the seats at the table for two for Krystal to sit down in, Fox took his seat and the two ordered their cuisines  
  
Fox was starting to get the shakes out of anxiety, and was constantly telling him to keep his cool, and then Krystal spoke. "You know Fox; you are not like anyone I have ever met, you're a hero to many people and you protect the rights of others on the battlefield. It's ironic how such a person like yourself maintains this kind of personality. I mean I used think that all people who had this kind of background might have a personality similar to Falco's. Yet you're different from all of them, you are very generous and thoughtful; I mean do you think anybody else would have helped me in my search for the truth," she said taking his hand.  
  
The yacht shook for a moment and then surged forward out of its port. The feel of her hand in his comforted him, "Thanks Krystal, I can't explain how I felt when I first looked into your eyes for the first time. Suddenly I wasn't Fox McCloud anymore, I just was just lost for that one moment." Fox laughed quietly to himself, "I'm really not very good with words, only actions." He stood up out of his seat still grasping Krystal's hand, "May I have this dance?"  
  
"I would be delighted," Krystal said getting up out of her seat.  
  
Fox lead the way to the dance floor in the center of the dining hall on the middle deck. Talking with Krystal made Fox feel a little better now, like he was sure that she liked him a lot more than he originally thought she did. They both moved elegantly on the dance floor, although they haven't gone to many dances. The tango seemed to be the on of the favorites among the crowd so they decided to give it a go. Surprisingly they were able to dance together really well, both moving elegantly across the dance floor. They were able to read each others movements; like they were guided by something, love perhaps. They took a break to go and eat and continued to slow dance through the rest of the night.  
  
The boat was three quarters the way through its loop and was on its way back to the port. "C'mon," Fox led her up to the top deck and towards the aft of the yacht, the moon was full and no one else was back there. "Perfect, time to make my move, don't back out now Fox!" He silently said to himself.  
  
"Oh my gosh look at the moon, it's so beautiful!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Nah, I've seen a lot of moons there is only one thing that is truly beautiful out here and I'm looking at it right now."  
  
Krystal smiled and shivered a little pulling closer to him, "Here are you cold?" he took off his jacket and put it around her.  
  
"Krystal there is something I wanted to ask you." She looked curiously at him for a second, as he reached into his breast pocket and pulled something out. "I've been meaning to make a recruitment onto the StarFox team and I would like to have you join my teammates and I on our wing."  
  
Krystal thought for a moment, "Sure I know how to fly but I've never fought before."  
  
"Don't worry about that, you'll be learning from some of the best."  
  
"In that case I'd love to!" Krystal exclaimed, Fox finally opened his hand and revealed which he kept hidden; a new pair of wings identical to the ones Fox wore. She snatched it out of his palm and examined the shimmering piece of platinum and silver under the moonlight. She was about to hug him but Fox stopped her; his heart began to beat a little faster now.  
  
"Not yet, just one more thing; although I can't actually give this to you but I'll ask you to take it anyway." She smiled at him; she knew what he was going to ask as he took her hands into his. "I'm giving this to you even though you have already captured it from me. I'm asking you to take my heart and be my girlfriend."  
  
"Are you done?"  
  
"Yea that's all."  
  
"Ok," she grabbed him and pressed her lips against his and the two lovers embraced in a passionate kiss.  
  
***  
  
The boat slowed to a complete stop back at the port, Fox took Krystal's hand as they walked off the boat. They were still on the streets walking to Trent's hanger which housed the Great Fox. "Jeez, I almost forgot to call Peppy and tell him that, she wants to join." Fox stopped for a moment and pushed a couple of buttons on his PDA.  
  
"I thought you said no gadgets," Krystal teased.  
  
"I know, I'm just letting Peppy know we made it ok without getting mugged."  
  
"Oh I see; will I get one of those?" she asked.  
  
"Yes eventually, they are good for a lot of things, so I'll explain once you get yours."  
  
Fox flipped his closed and slid the sleeve of his shirt back over the device hiding it from view. He looked up and saw something that caught his eye suddenly; they both were being watched from a dark alley by someone. Fox immediately recognized his outfit; it was the same attire as the person who they bumped into several days before. Judging by his build and height Fox assumed it was a male. Fox couldn't thoroughly examine him; the stalker slowly stepped backward into the alley concealing himself in the shadows.  
  
Fox walked over to the alley, and peered down into its shadows, his feelings told him whoever that was, he was still in there and waiting.  
  
"Stay here," he said to Krystal who also saw the stalker.  
  
He walked into the darkness until Krystal was hardly able to see his outline in the shadows, "Be careful," She called out to him.  
  
Fox's eyes shifted and tried to get used to the darkness, but he couldn't focus. There was a dripping fear that possessed him and had caused him made his heart beat with the force of a thunder cloud. A cold breezed blew at him causing all the smallest hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end like someone poured a cold, thick, liquid down his back. The wind intensified a little, whoever that was he was still there, watching, waiting. Fox closed his eyes and listened to his instincts as his father would tell him to do.  
  
"Don't move," Fox thought he heard his father say in the back of his mind.  
  
"Father.is that you?" Fox silently asked the voice.  
  
"DON'T MOVE!" the voice had repeated once again this time more sternly.  
  
"Ok," Fox slid his eyelids open once again peering into the unknown. A small yellow piece of paper carried by the wind glided up to the right side of his neck. Suddenly something silver shot out of the darkness impaling the scrap of paper, Fox obeyed his instincts and remained completely frozen. The thin silver blur spliced the air around his neck into a hundred different directions before slamming itself and the little note into a pipe running down the side of the right wall. The breeze died, the eerie feeling was gone, and so was the ghostlike creature. Fox let out a sigh of relief, and looked over to the pipe which now had a knife piercing it. He pulled the knife out with some with some required strength; it was an excellent knife exactly nine inches in length, well crafted and balanced for throwing. He then slid the little piece of paper off the razor-sharp blade and examined the writing scribbled in black ink.  
  
It read: Bleeding hearts and shattered skies, And all other things that tear your eyes. Will softly fall, in the fiercest reign, Surrounding you, with blinding pain.  
  
Fox thought about the words written, and what they meant when Krystal came up behind him.  
  
"Hey are you ok?" she asked looking very concerned.  
  
"Y-Yea I'm fine just a little shaken up," He stammered and shoved the little note into his pocket.  
  
"Where did you get that?" she said pointing to the knife.  
  
Fox explained everything that had happened a couple of minutes ago while wrapping the knife in a rag he found on the ground and sticking it on the inside of his jacket.  
  
"So do you have any idea who this attacker is at all?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not even sure he's an attacker, maybe just a messenger," Fox said.  
  
"Alright let's just go home now," she said taking his hand and walking out of the ally and back down the street, "Were you scared in there?"  
  
"A little, I don't get scared very often but there was just something completely creepy about the situation, why do you ask?"  
  
"Because your palms are moist," she gave him a quick kiss, "and your lips are cold."  
  
Fox shrugged "Like I said, it was really creepy; don't tell anybody else about this I don't know what that message meant. I usually choose never to believe anonymous tips, nor do I ever hold them in high regard.  
  
When they reached the entrance of the Great Fox's hanger Krystal stopped. "Well I know one thing and strongly believe it too; I love you Fox."  
  
Fox smiled and opened the opened the door and walked inside. All the lights inside were turned off and it was pitch black inside. Krystal followed him in but quickly lost him in the darkness. "Hey where did you go, I can't see anything!" She called out.  
  
"Krystal. I love you too," Fox flipped on the lights the rest of the StarFox team including Katt and Trent's entire workforce jumped out shouted "SURPRISE HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They had a lot of food, and drinks the exact set up for a surprise party. Krystal gasped and covered her mouth at what she saw in front of her. There was a table almost ten feet in front of her; on it were a black, blue, and yellow official StarFox flight suit, gloves, boots, PDA, and the standard issue sidearm complete with holster all neatly laid out for her taking. That wasn't what shocked her though, it was the brand new Arwing with the StarFox insignia and her name stenciled on both sides of the cockpit.  
  
Krystal was ecstatic and immediately ran up to her new ship and was looking over all of its components, "Oh my gosh I can't believe you guys did this for me!"  
  
Fox joined her as she ran her hand along the side of the hull, "Just one thing however, I don't want you taking it out for any test drives yet until you do a couple of training simulations at the base. The last thing I want is my girlfriend getting hurt in her new birthday present."  
  
She looked at all of the equipment laid out on the table in front of the ship, "Do I really need the gun?"  
  
"Well you don't have to always use it; you can always carry your staff with you if you want. I'd just prefer if you had it on you and knew how to use it," Fox said to her.  
  
"I still can't believe you did all of this for me!" Krystal said to him; Fox only shrugged. She leapt into his arms and passionately kissed him again causing everyone to start hooting and hollering at them.  
  
Slippy was opened up the cockpit and showed her the interior of the ship and explained some what some of the controls did with a couple of the other employees Fox went over and stood next to Peppy who was talking to a couple of the other engineers and technicians who had enjoying their beers.  
  
"Well judging by what I saw and heard, I'd say things went pretty well between the two of you."  
  
"Yea you might say that; god she's great, thanks for your help today old man."  
  
"Anytime youngin'." Peppy said grabbing his shoulder. 


	7. Bleeding Hearts and Shattered Skies

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 7 Bleeding Hearts and Shattered Skies  
  
Everyone woke up later than usual; it had been a long night of partying. It was the almost the usual scene in the galley again, Peppy enjoying the newspaper, Slippy chattering away on what's getting done on the ship, and Falco threatening him if he doesn't shut up. The only thing different was Krystal was sitting in Fox's seat; she wore her new flight suit boots and one of black vests proudly displaying her wings.  
  
"You look pretty eager to take to the skies," Fox said giving her a kiss on the cheek upon entering.  
  
"Will I be?" she asked him.  
  
"Maybe, if we think you're ready you will," Fox said back to her.  
  
"Just show us what you've got, what you can, and can't do. We'll evaluate you and we'll see if you can not kill yourself out there." Falco said to her.  
  
"I'll teach you a couple of combat maneuvers to start with but we'll do that later. Falco got permission from Scott last night to use his shooting range he owns in the Lower District, so we'll do that first, grab lunch, and then head to the base for your flight training." Fox added.  
  
"Can I we go to the base now and range after?" She asked him.  
  
"Sorry no can do, all of them are reserved for the Cornerian Air Force right now, but I got three of them booked for this afternoon." Krystal gave him half sad half pout kind of look which made him laugh. "Yea I know your anxious, I was too when I was learning but just be patient."  
  
***  
  
The whole team took a bus to the Lower District about two miles from the hanger; Falco opened up the indoor shooting range using the key he got from Scott. The range was closed so they had the place to themselves and were allowed to use their equipment only. Some of the time officers of the Cornerian Army would come down here to use the range since this one was better than then the one they the army had. Fox explained how the gun she had functioned and taught her safety precautions to take. Weapon brands never changed much; they only got more powerful, high tech, and more efficient at what they do, kill. Instead of using clips, and bullet casings, they used power cells to fire bursts of energy in its pure state which could burn through someone. Major firearm companies were still around; Colt, Heckler & Koch, and Smith & Wesson were all still leading manufacturers. The trademark pistol carried by the StarFox team was the HK Custom LX semi-automatic pistol. The gun was made custom so that you could control the amount of firepower used with in each shot, the amount of power used also reflected upon the rate of fire. Fox's gun used a normal amount of power so he could shoot fast. Falco never liked this so he cranked his gun up giving it a lot of stopping power at the sacrifice of the rate of fire. The gun used the conventional slide which would open to cool the barrel to prevent meltdowns; obviously if a lot of power was used the bolt would work slower to give the gun more time to cool.  
  
Falco couldn't stop boasting about how he had the best shot and the most powerful gun, however that was before Krystal took out her staff and lit up her targets with using the fire blaster function.  
  
"Ok that's enough fun for now," Fox said after about two hours of shooting, "let's get some lunch." Everyone agreed and left everything inside Scott's range the way they found it.  
  
As Fox was walking outside he felt the little paper he received from the night before all of a sudden get heavy in his pocket on the inside of his vest. He took it out and read it to himself again, he looked up with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. "Fox is something wrong?" Krystal asked him seeing the expression on his face; he knew what the note meant.  
  
"Oh shit, a warning.I shouldn't have ignored this, what the hell was I thinking?" Fox thought to himself; he turned to Krystal, "Something's happening.I, I feel it."  
  
"Fox what's going on?" Peppy asked, Fox handed him the note and opened up his PDA to call Pepper when incoming call flashed on the screen.  
  
"FOX GET HERE NOW WE'VE GOT INCOMING!" Pepper furiously yelled into his receiver.  
  
"How many?" he shouted back.  
  
"No less than about fifty Venomian bombers!"  
  
"I don't think I'll be able to get there, what's their ETA?"  
  
"THEY'RE HERE!"  
  
Sirens wailed all around the city, citizens were thrown into a state of panic running through the streets in a frenzy looking for a shelter. "We've got to get the hell out of here!" Falco exclaimed.  
  
"Hurry up we've got to get back to the hanger, the first means of transportation you see we're taking it but until we gotta run our asses off!" Fox said agreeing with Falco  
  
***  
  
At Corneria City's military headquarters Pepper was barking commands to others to get defenses up and fighters to their ships.  
  
"Get every active pilot to their interceptors I don't care where they are I want them in the air!" Pepper shouted at one of the lieutenants.  
  
"Yes sir!" The lieutenant replied and got onto his wire and called up wing commander he could get a hold of.  
  
Pepper grabbed the beagle that was in control of the radar systems pulled him to his face. "Why weren't we able to get a fix on them, we should been able to able to spot them before they even got past Sector Y!" The beagle said nothing at first and shook in his boots where he stood.  
  
"I-I-I don't know sir; they must be using some form of stealth technology or casting some form of radio wave to deflect our radar capabilities!"  
  
"Well boost power to maximum, our AAA batteries won't be able to do a single goddamn thing if they can't see what they are shooting at!" Pepper growled back.  
  
The lieutenant slammed his receiver down and yelled to Pepper, "Sir I've got half of Husky Unit and half of Delta's 22nd air born on their way, they'll take to the sky in fifteen minutes!"  
  
"Good work lieutenant, continue to raise anyone else you can, we need all the help we can get."  
  
"I've got them sir," The beagle running the radar said without looking up from his terminal and controls; Pepper immediately went over to his station. "They appear to be making a sweeping motion, starting at the Lower District and then eventually heading up here to us." The radar started to pick up static before losing transmission and getting completely jammed with inert signals. The beagle only looked at Pepper and shrugged "They've got our number sir there isn't a damn thing I can do."  
  
"Where the hell are you StarFox, we need you," Pepper said to himself  
  
***  
  
The team was having problems of their own; Fox glanced over his shoulder to make sure he had everyone with him. He stopped suddenly and stared intently at the bombers coming in hot over the horizon blanketing the area with bombs as they progressed.  
  
"Holy shit, we're gonna die!" Slippy shrieked.  
  
"NO we are NOT going to die, not while I'm around!" Fox yelled over the noise of the bombers and the falling explosives. He looked around there was no time to run, but only seconds to hide. He caught site of a sewer cap in the middle of the road, "There!" he hollered while pointing to their last hope which was there last hope.  
  
Falco got the sewer and used what strength he had left to pry it open and dropped downward into the darkness. Fox looked up, the bombers were right over them, and a bomb struck a skyscraper near its roof causing large fragments of the structure to plummet from above them. He grabbed Peppy and then Slippy and forced them down into the hole and looked for Krystal. Krystal was petrified, watching the chunk of the building threaten to crush them both into the ground. Fox ran over and grabbed her by the waist and both jumped down the sewer together.  
  
They both landed with a thud but quickly got to their feet from the fifteen foot fall into the dark tunnel. The ceiling was low, no higher than seven feet which meant the distance between the ceiling and the roadbed was thick. The chunk of the skyscraper landed flat over the sewer causing everyone's ears to ring for a moment. "Everybody follow me!" Falco shouted over the constant clamor.  
  
"Where are you I can't see anything!" Slippy shouted back.  
  
Falco pulled out his gun and started shooting into the wall illuminating the sewer tunnel for a moment and then blacking out as quickly as the flash came. He started to run while shooting giving the other a light to follow, more noise came from behind.  
  
"I think the tunnel is collapsing!" Peppy shouted running short of breath.  
  
"Just keep running!" Fox called up to him keeping Krystal in front of him.  
  
Krystal was running out of stamina and tripped; Fox fell on top of her not seeing her fall. He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her to her feet and ran her about twenty meters further before Falco dropped to his knees and shot again into the wall.  
  
"Everybody stay together and get down!" Fox shouted.  
  
The noise continued for a while longer before passing over them, and the sound of falling bricks and stone of the tunnel stopped behind them. Eventually the constant pounding above them stopped along with the falling debris.  
  
"Is everyone alright, anybody dead?" Fox asked without sight of his teammates.  
  
"Ow.no not yet," Falco groaned.  
  
"We're ok," both Peppy and Slippy said in unison.  
  
"How about you Krystal, are you alright?" silence, "Krystal? KRYSTAL!!!"  
  
  
  
Authors Note: Ah, the art of suspense; please let me know what you guys think of what I have so far. I promise you there will be more action; this is but only the beginning. So send me your thoughts, and review it, or send me an IM or an E-mail. I think I will post the remainder of the story one chapter at a time; more will come with time. 


	8. The Truth Be Told

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 8 The Truth Be Told  
  
Fox grew panicky and franticly scurried around the sewer floor helplessly groping through the fallen debris. "Falco shoot at somewhere and make sure that you won't hit anyone, especially Krystal," Fox called in the opposite direction.  
  
Falco reached to his left and felt along the wall making sure it was all stone and that nobody was up against it. He stepped back a couple of feet and fired directly into the wall he had just searched. The red flare from the gun ignited the sewer, for a brief moment, "I don't see her keep shooting," Fox said.  
  
It was hard for Fox to see, the flash from the gun destroyed his night vision leaving a crimson hue in the darkness. "Does anybody see her?" Fox asked becoming even tenser, his heart was in a knot, choking the flow of blood to the rest of his body making his hands tremble.  
  
"I don't see her Fox," Slippy said in a worried tone, "throw me you gun, I'll provide more illumination while you search." Fox obeyed and tossed his gun over to Slippy who was now standing up; the pistol smacked him in the nose and bobbled in his hands before he was able to get his finger around the trigger.  
  
Slippy shot directly upwards, at a rate faster than Falco's bursts, Fox continued to overturn bricks which glowed red for a hundredth of a second before dimming out and becoming visible once again. Fox looked to his right and saw what looked like a hunk of purple fur curled up in a fetal position and covered in dust. "I see her," he exclaimed while running over, and then kneeling down to brush the small pieces of rock off of her. She moaned while still unconscious, Fox put his cheek next to her muzzle and his hand on her esophagus. He felt a puff of warm air come out of her nostrils, and a slight throb of blood surged through her jugular, "She's alive," Fox said giving a sigh of relief.  
  
Fox put his hands on her shoulders, "Krystal...can you here me?" he asked the sleeping vixen.  
  
Krystal moaned again and drew in air through her mouth, "Fox...is that you?" she asked sliding her eyelids open only to greet more darkness and the sound of Fox's voice.  
  
"Oh thank god," Fox said helping her to sit upright against the closest wall, "are you alright?"  
  
Krystal rubbed her head and felt something wet on her fingertips, "Yea I'll be ok...my head hurts, and I think its bleeding." Fox felt underneath her hair and felt the large lump, and the dripping trickle of blood that oozed out of her wound.  
  
Fox held her hands in his and squatted over her, "Can you try and stand up, we need to find a way out of here and get you some medical attention," he said gently tugging on her arms. She slowly got to her feet and hugged Fox, "I thought I lost you for a second there," Fox whispered into her ear before repetitively kissing her on the cheek.  
  
"I would never leave you," she murmured while rubbing against him; "but for now lets save the romance for later, it stinks down here." Fox let out a chuckle, feeling better that she didn't lose her sense of humor before releasing her from his grasp.  
  
She pulled her staff out of the black leather holster she had across her back, extended it, and placed her hand over the sapphire orb in the head of the staff. A white light shown from the orb illuminating the tunnel and revealed all of which that was kept hidden in the shadows. "I didn't know that it could do that," Fox said squinting from the light given off by the staff.  
  
"Well I've had this staff my whole life, you've borrowed it for about a week, and only gotten a taste of its power," she said looking down to allow her eyes to get used to brightness.  
  
Krystal lead the way down the sewer for almost a quarter mile, there was an odd silence, like time had stopped. There was nothing to be heard overhead, only the tapping of footsteps against a stone floor and the occasional dripping of water. Krystal spotted a small hole in the ceiling with a ladder running up the side; it was an entrance to the sewer similar to the one they jumped down to escape the wrath of the bombers. Falco leapt up into the air, caught the ladder and swiftly ascended up to the sewer cap and tried lifting it with his arms, but it wouldn't budge. He put his back up against the sewer cap and wedged the heels of his feet onto one of the iron rungs of the ladder. He grunted as he lifted up against the cap with his legs, "I can only get it to lift up about an inch," Falco called down to his teammates.  
  
"There's probably some rubble piled on top of it," Peppy speculated.  
  
Fox lowered his head with a disappointed look on his face, "We'll probably have to move down to another sewer cap," Fox grumbled.  
  
"We could always try blowing it," Slippy suggested.  
  
"With what?" Falco asked still trying to lift the weight on the cap.  
  
"A makeshift bomb," Slippy replied back.  
  
Fox looked at Slippy with some curiosity, "Explain."  
  
"First of all, Falco save your strength; secondly, we take the power cells out of yours, Krystal's, and Falco's blasters and somehow wedge them underneath the sewer cap. If Krystal can somehow hit one of them with the fire blaster on her staff it'll set off a chain reaction of explosions with enough force to blow that cap right off."  
  
"And if it doesn't, that chain reaction of explosions is going to come right back down in my face," Krystal retorted while leaning on her staff.  
  
"It won't, trust me on this."  
  
"Should we try it?" Peppy asked Fox thinking critically about Slippy's plan.  
  
Fox looked up at Krystal, "It's up to her," Fox said.  
  
Krystal sighed and handed her staff to Peppy so she could disarm her pistol, "You'd better be right about this frog boy," she threatened.  
  
Fox snickered at the nickname Slippy just received from Krystal as he pulled the cell out of his pistol, he took his power cell and Krystal's up to Falco who had taken his out and was now holding it in his beak. "Alright I'm going to lift it as high as I can, when I tell you I'm dropping it, get your fingers the hell out of there."  
  
"I'm ready when you are," Fox said  
  
Falco hoisted up the sewer cap about five inches and Fox quickly wedged all three power cells underneath. Falco then let the cap back down and climbed down after Fox, "Alright, give it a shot," Fox said to Krystal who was now holding her staff in its firing position.  
  
Krystal nodded and signaled for everyone to get clear before she took aim. One red hot burst of fire shot from the end of the staff causing a bright red and yellow explosion when it came in contact with the cells. The blast knocked Krystal off of her feet, but she was unharmed and got back up. Everyone quickly climbed up the ladder and stood appalled at what had become of the once beautiful city.  
  
Fox sank to his knees, "How could this have happened, it's all my fault," he said looking down at the ground. The city was in ruins, everywhere Fox looked there was either a corpse or more burning rubble and craters left by the bombs. Fox was able to hear a faint siren behind him, Peppy was holding on to Slippy who was crying at the terrible sight. Falco stood by himself staring up with a malicious look at the sky which was no longer blue, but instead reddish in color with gray smog.  
  
Krystal came over to Fox and rubbed his back, "Fox it's not your fault, no one would have been able to anticipate such an attack," she comforted him.  
  
Fox looked outwards across the nearby lake, gazing at the smoke on the horizon and inhaling the intoxicating smell and ash that contaminated the air. "No...There was one person who knew this attack was coming...I must find him..."  
  
***  
  
The team split up into two groups, Peppy and Slippy were going to go back to the Middle District to make check on Slippy's father. Falco, Fox, and Krystal were heading to the Upper District to report to General Pepper and find out what was happening.  
  
Fox and Falco stood in Pepper's office watching his eyes trace over the words on the little note Fox had received; Krystal wasn't present, she was in the medical branch receiving treatment for her wound. Pepper's eyes suddenly exploded into a fiery rage as he squeezed the note in his hand, and pulled Fox within inches of his face by his vest, "You knew about this?" Pepper said in an intense whisper, a vein now pulsed in the side of his neck.  
  
"I didn't KNOW anything," Fox retorted in his normal voice, "it was an anonymous tip, and when I read it, it could have meant a hundred different things."  
  
Pepper released Fox while throwing the little note irately to the floor; he then turned away and paced to the back of the room. He slammed his cap down on his desk to rub his forehead, "I don't enjoy giving casualty speeches Fox," Pepper said in a warning tone.  
  
"I don't enjoy listening to them either General; I'm going to see if I can find the identity of our emissary I can only assume," Fox responded.  
  
Falco sat in one of the chairs along the side of the office, his fist was clenched into a ball over the tip of his beak; "what's the damage report?" he asked with out taking his hand away.  
  
Pepper snatched a piece of paper from the corner of his desk, "All attacking bombers have been accounted for, no downed friendly aircraft. The Lower District got hit the worst, the Middle District took minimal collateral damage, and the Upper District wasn't bombed at all. Our interceptors were able to take down all the Venomian bombers before they reached us here. There are at least a little over a hundred fifty dead, and nearly two hundred injured found thus far, mostly in the Lower District."  
  
A searing pain suddenly shot into the back of Falco's head, "Lower District, oh shit!..KATT!" Falco yelped springing out of the chair. "I've gotta find her, where is her apartment?"  
  
Pepper quickly sat down in his chair and started typing things in rapidly on his keyboard while gazing at the CPU monitor on his desk. "She lives in the Four Corners apartment complex, southern building; I'm giving a mission redirect to a med-evac shuttle scheduled to arrive at another part of the Lower District. You've got clearance to be on it, it's leaving with or without you in five minutes at hanger delta seven, and Falco...good luck."  
  
Falco bolted out of the room just as Krystal walked in with an icepack to her head; she jumped out of the way with just in time to avoid getting bowled over by Falco, "What happened?" she asked.  
  
"He's going to go look for Katt," Fox responded grimly.  
  
"Oh I hope she's ok," Krystal responded in a worried tone.  
  
"That reminds me," Fox began, he flipped open and his PDA and tried calling Peppy on it, "I should see if everyone's at the shop is ok," he said thinking aloud Peppy came onto the screen with a half smile on his face, "How is everything?" Fox asked.  
  
"Everything's A-ok, fortunately for us, they didn't get a chance to bomb this place before the interceptors took them all out," Peppy said.  
  
"Glad to here it; Falco took off in search of Katt in the Lower District, contact me if anything comes up," Fox said before closing the connection. Fox's ears perked up for a second, he heard the high pitched whistle of a Starlight Excel Plus engine.  
  
Although it was barely audible, Pepper was able to hear the faint sound and leaned back in his chair to look out the window, "Hmm, Bill has returned, I wonder if he can humor us with more bad news."  
  
Minutes later, Bill came in with a grim look on his face and folded up his sun glasses which he placed in the side pocket of his flight suit. "Fox, Krys," he said giving each of them a nod, "sir it's a good thing you're sitting down," he said as he saluted Pepper. "In case you are wondering I was aware that this attack was going to take place. I would have intervened but, what am I going to do with an unarmed ship, however the things I do have will shock you."  
  
"Why does it seem so many people knew this was going to happen except me? Well get on with it," Pepper motioned to him with his hand.  
  
Bill pulled a small data disc out of one of his pockets and handed to Pepper who stuck it into a drive on his desk, "What's he talking about?" he said to Fox.  
  
"I'll tell you later," Fox responded to him after plopping down in a chair next to Krystal.  
  
A panel on the right side of room opened and revealed a large flat screen television, Bill grabbed a remote control from Pepper's desk and pointed it to the television and loaded the pictures he took. "I'm sorry I don't have more photos of this but, I was afraid to get anywhere near it, if I went for closer look it might have jeopardized the mission." When Bill loaded the picture, Fox and Pepper's jaws dropped.  
  
"Son of a bitch," Pepper said slamming his fist down on his desk. The image was highly distorted due to being zoomed in on from about two and a half miles away. It was the planetary defense satellite Bolse, but it was a lot different looking than from how Fox remembered it. It looked a lot larger and seemed to have a transparent blue bubble around it.  
  
"I don't know much about it but analysis shows that on top of being able to cast a protective shield around itself and another planet, it has a lot more capabilities. Bolse can now, send out jamming frequencies and lock in on our signals, anything and everything said over a radio could possibly be intercepted by the enemy. I know what you're thinking, how could we have not seen this thing? Well Bolse has been sitting quietly out of sight behind Venom acting as an observer. Right now Bolse is casting waves through Venom which is leading me to believe that we haven't seen it at maximum power."  
  
Fox laughed sarcastically, "I certainly hope you've got enough money and materials to make more Spectral Wraiths, enough to supply the entire fleet 'cause right now, they got us pinned down. I wouldn't doubt for a second that they can draw a bead on anything we throw at them, and counterattack very quickly."  
  
Pepper closed his eyes, "We should not have forgotten Venom, as long as that planet exists there will always be a threat looming over us," he said.  
  
"Don't worry it gets better," Bill continued showing multiple images of large buildings and numerous facilities.  
  
"Looks like barracks, and enough of them to house enough troops to level any planet they choose," Pepper said solemnly.  
  
"Not just barracks, they also have plenty of command stations, weapon facilities, star ports, hangers and machine shops; next image." The next image that flickered on was a close up of the insignia the enemy wore stamped on the side of a bunch of crates.  
  
Pepper then spoke up, "I recognize the A that Andross used as his insignia and had all of his troops wear but I don't get what that is behind it."  
  
"No way," Fox said leaning forward, "I know what that is...it's a fusion, a fusion of the Sharp Claw Army and the Venomian Regular Army, they've joined forces." Fox was indeed right, the Insignia was an A backed by the symbol found on the sides of the crates used to hold pukpuk eggs for troops on Dinosaur Planet.  
  
Bill smiled, "Very good, I couldn't put them both together, that was until I saw this guy. I was bored on the way there so I read the report put up by Pepper about your activity on Dinosaur Planet and I was to say the least a bit shocked," Bill said clicking the remote again.  
  
"NO! WHAT THE HELL?" Fox shouted at the image of General Scales standing on the balcony of a giant building which was obviously the command center due to its enormous size. He looked as if to be giving some kind of speech his troops, the balcony had a banner hanging down over the railing displaying the new insignia of the conjoined forces. "That's impossible; I saw the one of the Sharp Claw hold his belt up to me when I flew over the Krazoa Palace," Fox continued.  
  
"Did you actually see the body?" Bill said raising his eyebrow.  
  
"Well, no but I-"  
  
"He may have not...but I did," Krystal interrupted; she closed her eyes remembering the details of the assassination of General Scales.  
  
***Krystal Narrates***  
  
I quickly ducked down behind the now headless statue of the Krazoa spirit when I heard what sounded like someone coming through a warp. I poked my head out a bit to see what was happening, a Sharp Claw transport was landing in the back left corner of the roof, and General Scales was approaching it. He was followed by three of his comrades, each brandishing clubs. The transport hatch opened and was left running. Everyone exited including the pilot who was dressed differently from the rest of them; they all had a clubs except for one who was carrying a large double bladed ax. They got into two lines of four and saluted the approaching general.  
  
Scales stopped and saluted back, the pilot's face then twisted into a smile, just then two of the soldiers behind scales of the hit the general in the back of the legs with their clubs. He groaned in pain and dropped to his knees, "What is the meaning of this?" the General roared.  
  
I moved closer and knelt down behind the slope leading up to where I was imprisoned so I could hear better. The Sharp Claw holding the ax then booted him in the stomach causing him to double over and wheeze in pain. Another with his free hand picked the general back up to his knees, "There is going to be a change in the balance of power...General," the Sharp Claw snarled back. He then grabbed his bludgeon with two hands, and brought it diagonally across the side of his face.  
  
The general's face lurched to the side absorbing the blow. I turned my head, placing my hand over my mouth cringing at the sound of the clicking noise I heard from the come from the general's fractured jaw. I stuck my head out once again; the general's nose was bleeding and a small bone now protruded through the skin below his muzzle. The other soldiers began to cackle hysterically as he roared in pain; he fell over to his side. I had to get the hell out of there, and that transport was my ticket, the trick was getting there. The other Sharp Claw soldiers growled with a malicious delight as they all began to stomp circle Scales, I can't exactly say I felt bad for him. Now was my chance while the soldiers were distracted; I silently crept over to the hatch and made it inside with out getting spotted and peered though the cockpit window. The one Sharp Claw holding the ax pushed the others back, and rolled the general onto his back so he could watch himself die. He brought the ax high above his head until he was literally scratching his back with it.  
  
General Scales cried out, holding his battered chest and stomach, "You shall all rot for this," he said in immense pain.  
  
I couldn't look, there was a fleshy, wet, chopping sound followed immediately by a clink of the bit of the ax hitting the stone floor. The next thing I heard was the sound of blunt objects hitting flesh followed by more chopping and splashes of spilled blood. I couldn't stand it anymore; I closed the hatch and lifted off at the same time. I hovered over the group for a moment, they didn't seem too happy I borrowed their ship. Scale's body was hacked up and beaten to pieces, making him look like several chunks of pulp and bone floating in a crimson soup, there was no way he was alive. As I was leaving more transports came up from behind me and dispatched soldiers onto the roof of the Krazoa Palace.  
  
***I'll take over again***  
  
Fox rubbed his chin now leaning against the wall opposite the television, "You do believe me don't you Fox?" Krystal asked him.  
  
"Of coarse I do, I believe your telling the truth, just I don't believe that was General Scales who you saw," Fox said massaging the back of her neck with one hand.  
  
"Obviously he's still alive," Pepper said putting his feet up on his desk, "I'm just curious as to who she saw, there are a lot of possibilities."  
  
Fox scratched the back of his head, "You know what, I'm willing to bet that the real Scales was the one who I confronted in the Krazoa shrine. After he gave me the Krazoa spirit, three Sharp Claw soldiers who you must have been talking about jumped out of some sort of liquid mirror looking...thing," Fox said shrugging his shoulders. "I wonder if that was some sort of gateway set up by Scales linking to somewhere else; perhaps Venom, allowing for a quick escape."  
  
"But how do explain the dead Scales with this picture?" Bill said pointing to the television.  
  
"Well this is a pure guess but, I think it's possible that Scales could have escaped out of the shrine and have put a clone or look alike who knew nothing of what was going on in his place."  
  
Pepper sighed and took his feet off of his desk, "Anything else?" he asked Bill.  
  
"I've just got more of the same stuff, you welcome to take a look," he answered back.  
  
Fox sat down in the chair next to Krystal's and entwined his fingers with hers; she scooted closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder. "I hope Falco is ok," she whispered to him.  
  
"So do I," Fox said giving her a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
***  
  
The med-evac shuttle touched down with a thud and Falco ran out once the hatch opened with all of the medics and volunteers. Falco ran up to one of the husky medics and grabbed him by his pack, "You, you're coming with me," he yelled to him over the noise of the transport's engine powering down.  
  
"Where are we going?" the husky asked.  
  
"The southern building to the Four Corners apartment complex, you know where that is?"  
  
"Yea follow me, what is it that we are looking for?" the husky said walking ahead of him.  
  
"A pink cat named Katt," Falco said.  
  
"That's easy to remember," the husky said now picking up the pace to a jog.  
  
The southern building of the apartment complex was completely destroyed and was literally blown inside-out. The area around the wreckage was littered with stone, parts of walls, and personal belongings, all evenly covered with a thick layer of soot. The air was thick with fog; it stunk with the strong sent of carbon and sulfur making Falco's eyes water a little. He got a light, tingling feeling in his chest; it was kind of ironic because people always refer to it as feeling down when you are worried or sad. "Ok you start at that end and search around there, I wish we had more people to help us," Falco said. His palms grew sweaty and his legs became weak, the bubbling sensation in his heart never left him.  
  
Falco's head snapped to one side thinking he heard someone calling his name, "Falco is that you?" he heard again. Falco's heart jumped when he saw Katt sitting by herself on the curb of the street about twenty meters away. He immediately ran over to her side, she was very dirty and had blotches of black soot and what looked like a slight burn on her leg. She was holding a rag to her right arm which was saturated with blood.  
  
Falco got down to her level and hugged her tightly; Katt didn't hug back but instead just cuddled with him by rubbing her head against his. "I'm so glad you're alive, I was really scared," Falco said softly to her.  
  
"I just knew you'd come for me," she said back, a tear now forming in the corner her eye.  
  
"Are you hurt at all?" Falco asked her, she pulled the rag from her arm revealing a deep gash in her upper arm nearly bone deep. "Geez Laweeze, girl," Falco exclaimed and whistled over for the husky who made his way over the rubble and dropped his pack of medical supplies next to her.  
  
"I can clean and field dress this but get her on the shuttle and to an ambulatory immediately after I'm finished. It's probable that she'll need to get this thing stitched up," the husky said pulling out tape, water, morphine, gauze wrap, and other medical supplies of his pack.  
  
Falco took the blood-drenched out of Katt's paw; he was obviously very angry and sighed heavily at what a mess things had become. Katt took her hand which was now free from the rag and held Falco's hand while the husky stabbed her with the morphine hypodermic capsule above her wrist on her wounded arm. "Everything always gets taken away from me Falco," she said gripping his fingers in hers. The morphine was taking effect and numbed up every thing in her arm relieving her of the burning and itching pains.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Falco asked.  
  
"Think about it Falco, I could never hang with you and your friends when we were young, our parents took that away. My parents took you away from me again when we moved to Zoness, and the first time I've seen you since we moved was six years later when the Lylat War first broke out. And now..." she said slumping back against his chest, "look around you, everything I've worked for to get a good life has been blown apart."  
  
She sobbed softly and Falco gently cradled her in his arms as the medic cleaned the wound and was wrapping it tightly to stop blood loss. "Katt, you haven't lost every thing...you still have me. You're staying with us now; with Fox, Peppy, Slippy, Krystal, and me, we're all going to take care of you, my home is yours." He was more compassionate now; the sight of a dear friend seriously injured and lying in your arms was more than enough to tear down the walls his father had built around him.  
  
Katt smiled, she was happy to be closer to him now; it was nice to know someone who really cared. The morphine zipped though her body making every sensation go blunt and shot up into her cerebrum making her wits go fuzzy inside her brain. "There he is, my man, my lover, the only one I can truly love. I should tell him how I feel...Yea that's a good idea, how I feel," she thought to herself. Her eyesight went blurry like she was looking up from underwater, her emotions slipping into a serene state of mind; she was no longer in control of her thoughts, notions, or her reality.  
  
"Falco," she whispered up to him, "I love you...I've always loved you, and I will forever love you."  
  
Falco stopped, his thoughts stopped, his heart stopped, his breathing stopped, time itself had stopped. There was no mistaking what Katt had just said to him, he wasn't sure what the correct response was; should he say nothing, ducking behind the walls once again. Should he tell her he loves her too, but would he mean it? It was a standard response to that kind of statement, but he had never said it to anyone like Katt before. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath, "Katt...I-" she put a finger up to his beak and pushed it shut.  
  
"You don't need to say anything Falco, I understand everything," Katt shushed him.  
  
"You do?"  
  
"Uh...huh..." she saw a couple of black spots in her field of vision, they all got larger and came together as one big eclipse, her eyes rolled back into her head, she was out.  
  
"Katt..." he shook her gently in his arms, "hey what happened to her?" Falco asked the husky who was ripping the tape he used to hold the bandage in place.  
  
The husky looked into her face, her eyes were closed and her expression was blank. He pulled one of her eyelids back and peered at her eyeball which looked slightly bloodshot, and released it a moment later with a puzzled look on his face. He picked up and read the label on the side of the morphine capsule he dropped next to her, "whoops, too much morphine."  
  
"Is she going to be ok?" Falco asked.  
  
"She'll be fine", he said flicking the spent capsule away,"...probably wake up with a headache but nothing serious, carry her back to the shuttle and stay with her incase she wakes up," he said putting supplies back into his pack.  
  
*** Fox's PDA chirped and vibrated for a second on his arm, he flipped the screen open and the words incoming call blinked at him. Falco's face appeared in the vid-window, "Hey Fox, I found Katt and she seems to be ok,"  
  
Fox gave a sigh of relief, "Whew that's good to hear Falco, what's your status?"  
  
"We're on our way back to HQ now, Katt's got one hell of a scrape on her arm and she's going to need immediate medical attention. And Fox, I need to talk to you about something..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Well...you're better at this sort of thing than I am so...Katt told me-" Fox's PDA suddenly went haywire with static.  
  
"What the hell, Falco can you hear me?" Fox shouted at the screen and tapped it with his opposite hand. There was no response, the static just intensified and was replaced with replaced with a black screen seconds later. The words New Text Message appeared in white on the screen, and then faded out completely, in red letters this time, a virtual note was left for Fox which he read silently to himself.  
  
"Bleeding hearts and shattered faith, do you feel a little unsafe? The war is on and gone is grace, are you ready to see my face?" the message disappeared and then another replaced it. "Tonight, eleven-hundred hours, The Eminence Alleyway Park..." the message disappeared and his whole PDA seemed to lose power.  
  
"What was that?" Krystal asked who was looking over his shoulder.  
  
"That would be our informant..."  
  
Authors note: *devious face* who could it be? I know and so should you, I'll update as soon as possible. I extend gratitude to Matt J for teaching me how to do the ... thing, and anyone else who reviews. =) 


	9. Shadow on the Son

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
Authors Note: Oh geeeeeeeez! This certainly took me longer than expected. I'm sorry I haven't been able to write much at all, I hope you all haven't forgotten what this story was about. =/ Sorry I just had to add one slight fix to this regarding what happened to ___'s mother. I don't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't read this yet. ^_^  
  
CHAPTER 9  
Shadow on the Son  
  
It was five minutes to eleven; Falco and Krystal stood in Fox's room and watched him as he sat on the edge of his bed and slid his knife into a small sheath he had sewn on the inside of his vest.  
  
"I'm going with you!" Falco protested.  
  
"No your not..." Fox answered back without looking up.  
  
"I can't believe you're going to trust some guy who tried to kill you before!"  
  
"He didn't try to kill me, he tried to tell me something but I ignored him..."  
  
"Why don't you say something, don't you care at all that he's going to get himself killed?" Falco said turning to Krystal.  
  
"Of course I care and I'm just as worried as you are, but...I trust that he's not going to let anything happen," Fox paused hearing her words. There was an eerie silence when Fox's eyes met hers, he wouldn't ever let her down.  
  
"You know what? Fine...but when he throws another knife and it catches you in the face, don't say I didn't warn you," Falco said before turning and storming out of the room.  
  
Fox got up off his bed and walked over to his desk in the corner of the room looking at his gun he had placed in the middle of it. He picked it up, examined it for a moment, and slipped it into its holster on the side opposite the knife. Krystal came over and held his arm; Fox turned his head to meet her gaze. "Please be careful...promise me you'll come back to me in one piece," she said.  
  
Fox turned all the way around and hugged her tightly, "I promise," he said and then pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes wallowing in the feeling of shared love, Fox pulled away and his grin brought a feeling of comfort to her worried heart.  
  
She followed Fox out of the room and walked up to the bridge. Krystal stood silently and watched as Fox approached one of the hover cars and opened the door. Fox stopped when he got that all too familiar feeling that he was being watched, he looked up to the bridge catching sight of Krystal who once again had that worried look on her face. Fox looked directly at her and winked which brought the smile back to her face. Fox got into the car, drove out of the hanger, down the driveway, and out onto the desolate street. Tapping his thumb and index finger on the steering wheel he carefully avoided the craters left by the bombs. "She's going to give herself an ulcer worrying about me so much," Fox thought to himself, "I'm the one who should be worried..."  
  
Fox parked across the street from the park gates, got out and stood looking into the ruins of the common ground. The park was in even worse shape than it was before, the walls which were already covered in graffiti and gang tags had taken several hits from the bombs and were blown apart in some parts. Fox pushed open one of the large gates which was now reduced to a twisted shard of iron. It creaked for a second before falling off of its hinges and clanging to the ground. The park had once displayed many pieces of sculpture art where anyone could come and look at the beautiful creations of arcs, figures, and statues of great animals of the past. That beauty was decimated into a pandemonium of fallen idols and crushed heroes and heroines. Fox stumbled through the maze of debris and rubble until he got to something that seemed peculiar. In the northwest corner of the park there was a clearing. There were no small rocks or pieces of statues, only large chunks of stone that were too heavy to be moved by hand, including the top half of a twenty foot pillar. In the corner of the walls, there were two slabs of stone leaning up against each other creating a lean-to like shelter. Fox stared at the little opening in the shelter which was shrouded in darkness; he noticed a park bench which seemed to have been moved in front of the aperture. He was starting to get the idea now and took a seat on the bench and awaited a visitor.  
  
He stared out at Fox with mixed emotions; a malicious delight with a wry compassionate expression; it had been a long time since he met with him. "Now might be a good time to exact some revenge...no bad idea, he's one of our only hopes, killing him might lead to more trouble, and trouble is something I don't need. Still it would be fun to kick his furry arse around here a little bit...he deserves to die for what he did to me, my pride, my honor...ah what the hell, I'll let him decide," he argued in his thoughts. "I'm going to have to move quickly, I'm losing my rage..." he thought again. He looked down to his left hand which was twitching profusely. Every movement sent an itch throughout his body making him stronger; it sent streams of liquid fury to his brain commanding him to give into violence. He tightly grabbed his left wrist and held it to his chest as if trying hopelessly to get it to stop. "You are late!" he reprimanded Fox from his shadowy veils.  
  
The voice from the darkness caught Fox's attention immediately; "I know," Fox answered back.  
  
"Is there anyone else there with you?"  
  
"No, I've come alone as implied."  
  
"Good..." He took a couple of steps forward out of the shelter and let the moonlight unmask his identity. "So...the fox has finally come out of his hole..." he said giving a trivial smile.  
  
"Yes...and I see the wolf has finally come out of his den...." Fox said to him returning the smirk.  
  
"It truly has been...too long, Fox McCloud"  
  
"I was beginning to think you were dead, Wolf O'Donnell"  
  
Wolf looked up to the moon admiring its beauty; it had been a long time since he openly exposed himself to another person on this planet. He was dressed in the same attire as the stranger who bumped into Krystal the time they went to The Celestial Sciences and Planetary Archives. Black combat pants, black muscle shirt, under a black trench coat minus the hood, and of course his trademark eye patch covering his left eye. Fox stood like a stone, trying to read Wolf's emotions and movements, a single wrong move was what he was looking for. Although Fox knew him, he did not know him all that well and was afraid he might try and pull something, he wasn't an individual to be trusted. Wolf's arm resting by his side gave another violent twitch; that was it! Fox quickly reached inside his vest, drew his gun and pointed it at Wolf's head! Wolf's reactions were just as quick as Fox's, drawing two smaller pistols from their holsters behind his kidneys and held them level to each other, each front sight covering Fox's heart. Wolf raised his eyebrows, "I'm getting the feeling that you're not willing to trust me, Fox, even after I tried to help you...no, Corneria get prepared for the onslaught."  
  
"Oh and I'm sure YOU of all people would trust someone who has always set his sights on your head and even came close once or twice!" Fox said forcefully. "Hey, three times a charm, feeling lucky tonight?"  
  
"It's a shame, Fox; I was hoping you'd be the first one to pull the trigger, so we wouldn't have to have a standoff like this for hours."  
  
"There's still time, should I?"  
  
"I don't know, should you...or should I?" Wolf said, his eye piercing directly into Fox's forehead trying to read his thoughts. Fox's finger tightened around the trigger of his gun, he wasn't afraid to let one slip, possibly to remove one less thorn in his side but he felt Wolf still had some part to play. "I'm going to give a choice, Fox, we can go guns away and settle this like gentlemen, or we can play who's got the itchier finger."  
  
"Well if we were to go with the second option I don't know if you would be able to hit me with your trembling hands."  
  
"Never mind my hands!" Wolf snapped back.  
  
"What's wrong, are you afraid?" Fox mocked.  
  
"Nowhere near as afraid as you were that night in the alley, I could smell the sweat pour from your skin; hear the beat of your heart grow louder and more rapid with every second."  
  
"Shut up, I oughta' put out your other eye right now!" Fox shouted.  
  
"Oh really, do you dare try it Fox? Will you have time to dodge my two shots which could possibly sever the relationship with you and your precious girlfriend?"  
  
"Leave her out of this!"  
  
"My, my, aren't we a little hotheaded this evening. I guess we only have but one choice then don't we Fox," Wolf said. He stood up getting out of his defensive stance and spread his arms pointing each muzzle in opposite directions. Fox looked at him suspiciously and then lowered his gun to his hip. They both tossed their guns away in opposite directions from each other. Wolf cracked his knuckles, "I hope you still have fight left in you, you let love get in your way and make you soft."  
  
"We'll see, I hope I didn't hurt you at all when I shot you down over Venom eight long years ago," Fox said with a sarcastic grin.  
  
Wolf's eye narrowed, "You are going to feel this Fox, I am going to make you feel the stinging pain I go through everyday. Be ready to be force fed anguish; be ready to shit your pride out your arse when I'm through with you." Fox was ready, while preparing to fight he stood in a back stance. Wolf, who was taking his time, cracked his neck and tossed the trench coat aside. Wolf took an aggressive stance and lowered himself to the ground, the way the two leered into each others eyes was quite unusual. There might have been a passionate hate between the two, one cannot be sure. But one thing was for sure, neither of them had the will to lose.  
  
Wolf growled through his teeth as he charged at Fox going for a clothesline across Fox's throat. Fox quickly tucked and rolled underneath Wolf's massive arm, he jumped back to his feet and anticipated the next attack. Wolf again showing his aggression threw several punches at Fox's head, which he nimbly avoided, ducked and gave Wolf a fierce blow to the stomach. Fox's fist stopped as it collided into Wolf's abdomen. He looked down and grinned at Fox who was stunned that his punch did not hinder his stamina one bit. Wolf brought his fist back and gave a short uppercut connecting perfectly with the center of his jaw.  
  
The blow sent Fox backwards onto the heels of the feet. He groaned and stumbled a little, the park was shaking around him. He clenched his eyes shut and opened them wide to make the blurriness go away. Wolf stood with a twisted smile of pleasure, "Oh...I'm sorry Fox, do I hit too hard? Do I play too rough?"  
  
Fox spat on the ground, "I'll give you 'rough' you bastard!" he screamed; his heart filled with hate, his mind full of fire. He charged at Wolf and delivered two spin kicks, both of which were effortlessly blocked by Wolf's left arm. Wolf grinned, he spun quickly and retaliated with a kick of his own; Fox went for the similar block. Wolf's fierce kick smashed into his shoulder causing his blood vessels to burst and sting like flesh teased by a flame. Fox cringed in pain and took two skips backwards out of range from Wolf's blows.  
  
Fox felt the blood start flowing in his upper arm again; it hurt terribly to move his arm up or down. "Definitely going to get a good bruise there," Fox thought to himself. "How could he have possibly gotten so strong?" Fox tried to remember what little Jujitsu he knew, he cupped his fist in one hand before extending his arms out and stood sideways to Wolf making him less of a target. Fox closed his eyes, channeling his energy as his instructor in hand-to-hand combat would tell him when performing martial arts. Fox felt better after the short meditation and was able to block out the pain he had in his arm. "Got that out of the way," Fox thought to himself again, "Now step two, get inside your foes head...shouldn't be hard." Fox opened his eyes again and put a devious look on his face, "I'm curious Wolf, how is it going to feel to lose again?" he said.  
  
Wolf surged forward attacking with several punches and kicks with all of his might. Fox nimbly dodged all the incoming blows and did a back hand spring to get away. He thought it was a bad idea to try and go toe-to-toe with Wolf since he was obviously a lot stronger and had a larger build then he did. "I'm afraid you are mistaken my friend...it is you who going to be the one to fall this time."  
  
"I wouldn't count on it; remember those days at the Academy? Always second best, your scores could never beat mine. Of course you remember Wolf, 'second place IS first loser'...I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, especially losing to me again on Venom." Wolf snarled again and charged Fox with a jumping high kick; Fox was able to avoid the attack by inches, tucking and rolling out of the way before squaring off again. "See Wolf, you were and still are unable to fight never mind pilot while you're angry. Stupid bastard, I've pulled the same move on you for so many years and you never seem to learn. I get you angry; you get me another top score.  
  
Wolf's muscles pulsed with hatred, his heart pumping the rage-filled blood throughout his body and his mind. His hands curled into fists exposing his rock hard knuckles under his skin, "ANGER IS A GIFT!!!" Wolf howled out loud and bared his teeth protruding out from his drooling mouth giving him the appearance of a rabid animal. Wolf charged again throwing random punches and kicks with enough force to stop an oncoming truck but were so sloppy he wouldn't have been able to hit it. Fox side stepped one of the punches and slammed his elbow into Wolf's chest and rolling his arm up giving him a hard back knuckle into the center of Wolf's face. It didn't faze him. Wolf grabbed Fox's arm and twisted it over his head and then flipped him hard to the ground over his back. Fox grunted when he landed flat on the ground, his eyes focused on the incoming fist at his face. He didn't think, just reacted; tilting his head to one side Wolf was only able to catch him in the corner of his ear. He rolled to the left twice, and quickly sprung to his feet. Wolf dove at him again, getting his massive hands around Fox's neck. Fox shoved his thumbs into the little sockets above Wolf's clavicles. Using Wolf's own force against him, Fox rolled back, and put one foot in the center of his sternum then kicked him off into the air. Wolf flew through the air upside down before crashing into the side of one of the stone walls and sliding down onto the back of his head.  
  
Wolf rolled over and rubbed his head. When he got to his feet, he looked up and saw that Fox was on the offensive this time. Wolf got into a defensive stance and prepared to ward off an attack, but his senses were still weak and his head still throbbed. His eyes deceived him and gave the illusion that there were three Foxes instead of one. As Fox jumped through the air, Wolf put his hands in front of his chest, hoping to be able to soften the incoming blow. But what Fox did was completely unexpected. With great speed and precision, Fox ran up the front of Wolf and perched himself on top of Wolf's shoulder with one foot. Fox swung his opposite leg back, Wolf gasped as the boot toting an enormous amount of force and momentum swung like a pendulum towards his face. It all happened so fast that Wolf was only able to get a hand in front of his face, and turn his head to avoid a direct shot between the eyes from Fox's monstrous kick. A millisecond later, Wolf's head snapped back and his face exploded in pain. He found himself careening backwards, his body flying parallel to the ground before smashing his cranium back into the pillar. Fox still following through with his kick flew into the air before back flipping and landing gracefully on top of the wall.  
  
Fox stood still as he watched Wolf slowly recovered from the blow. He stumbled to his feet holding the top of his head; the corner of his jaw now had a huge cut on the side of it. He held the side of his jaw before spitting out a tooth and a lot of blood with it. Even more angry then before, Wolf reached down to the side of his boot and pulled out his knife. "What are you waiting for; it's time to finish this once and for all," Wolf said as his blood slowly trickled down off his chin from the open wound.  
  
Fox reached into his vest; as he pulled it, it made that distinct cold steel on leather sound...a sliding of silent death. He stood poised on top of the wall gripping the knife in his fingers in the stabbing position close to the side of his head. His opposite hand outstretched as if to try and pull his prey in close and go for the sweet spot along the rim of the throat. There was a gleam in the blade of the knife from the moon, it caught Fox's eye, and looking into it he could see his reflection in the polished metal. The knife gleamed again; it was no longer his reflection he was starring into...it was his father's. Fox's expression changed into a look of awe as he saw his father staring out at him, James did not look the least bit pleased. He was, to say the least, a bit disappointed and shook his head miserably. The knife gleamed once more and he was gone. Fox got the message his father was trying to send, he stood up with the knife by his side. "C'mon! Fight! Kill me! I've been waiting for this pain to go away for the longest time!" Wolf shouted at him.  
  
Fox looked down at himself again, and back in his reflection in the knife, "no Wolf...I can't..."  
  
"WHAT! Why not? You have to! You don't have a choice, KILL ME!"  
  
"Wolf...I'm sorry, I came here for a meeting, not commit murder. I would be very ashamed that such an esteemed pilot and fighter as yourself would drop down to that level. Murder just isn't my game Wolf...it's too bad that you're willing to make it yours." With that, Fox tossed the knife to Wolf's feet and turned to hop off the opposite side of the wall.  
  
Wolf's defiant stare faded into a stoic look, "Fox wait...hold on a minute," Fox looked down on Wolf with a side-long glare from over his shoulder. Wolf tried to speak again but the words couldn't come out, his jaw, along with every other muscle was frozen in place. He clenched his eyes shut in pain as he tried to move; he knew what was happening and tried desperately to fight it. "Oh God no...not now...not in front of him," he begged in his thoughts, the cold sludge in his throat built up, there was no stopping it. His body finally loosened up and he was able to quickly spin away from Fox dropping his jaw open, he spewed a thick white liquid from his maw.  
  
Fox jumped down from the wall and took a few steps closer to Wolf with a look of disgust on his face, "What the hell is the matter with you?" he asked.  
  
Wolf did not reply but instead held up one finger shushing Fox from speaking again. Wolf fell to his knees and held his gut, his throat burned like acid as his body ridded itself of all its contaminants and poisons it had consumed. He panted over the stinking white pile of vomit and wiped his mouth with his arm; he then reached into one of the pockets on his cargo pants and pulled out a little vial with a syringe secured in place with a rubber band which he then tossed over to Fox.  
  
Fox caught it and read the label, "Rage...Formula 326?" Fox read aloud, "what is this shit-in-a-can you got?"  
  
Wolf was a hideous sight, he was still lying on his knees holding his stomach and was coughing and hacking up more vomit. "...A steroid," he gurgled, "it's serious stuff...makes you a little volatile though..." Wolf's lips twisted and he began to gag up yet another painful stream of the awful fluid.  
  
Fox glanced down at the vial again, "May cause discomfort when affects begin to wear off...heh, let me guess this isn't exactly what you would call prescription now is it? Here let me lend you a hand," Fox placed the vial and syringe on a rock and stomped hard causing the glass container to shatter and the deadly toxin to seep into the ground.  
  
Wolf was exhausted from all of his vomiting, he dragged himself to the wall that Fox was once standing on and leaned against it. Wolf spat on the ground again and dabbed his cut with the sleeve of his shirt. "Sorry Fox....I never wanted to fight you. I did at one point but...I've had some time to think about myself...to look at what my life has been."  
  
Fox leaned against the wall next to him, "Wolf, it's not all your fault, I jumped the gun. I can hardly trust anyone anymore. I swear I thought you were dead. Wolf...tell me what happened...what has your life been?" Wolf swallowed hard, "I'll tell you everything Fox, and I'll start from the beginning," Wolf said closing his eye. He opened it again and he was back to the land of happiness he remembered from so long ago. He was with his father, mother, and brother once again, sitting down to their dinner. They all lived in a small house on Corneria in the lower district. Nothing big and nothing special; just a family who lived together. What could possibly go wrong? "My father and my brother, have always been in my thoughts, I loved them...I loved them all. I looked up to him and my brother; they both served in the Cornerian National Guard. Military service was the bloodline of all males of O'Donnell's, which is why I decided to become a pilot. Ten years ago, I don't know if you remember, but there was that protest in the upper district in front of the capitol building, the one about the development of the Rifter weapon?"  
  
Fox nodded his head, "Yea I remember, tell me about your father and brother a little more."  
  
"Well," Wolf continued "I can't describe the way I used to feel about my father, Ark, he was just so...cool. He had a different style of fur than the rest of us had, it was the same color gray as mine but his had unusual black patterns like lines and swirls, kind of like veins. I can't describe it, but it was all natural. Unfortunately my brother and I didn't get that trait from him when we were born and had all gray fur like my mother's. His eyes were another thing, they weren't pure sky blue like the rest of ours; they had a blue iris which faded to a deep red before hitting his pupil. Lupall was twenty-two, I guess he was a lot like me, pretty quiet, never talked much; but he was my brother and I loved him...that was all that mattered.  
  
"Both my father and brother got called to keep the peace at the protest, it was supposed to be friendly no need for violence, or so they thought. I remember watching it on the news at home; my father wore his captain's uniform and stood next to my brother protecting him. They were all equipped with batons, riot shields, and some fully auto carbine rifles. They assumed they wouldn't need them, but carried them just to keep the protesters from getting any bad ideas. Some fat badger who was the developer of the weapon made his speech over the booing crowd and it was my father and brother's job to get him safely away from the area when he was through. They both escorted him to his car, that's when it happened...the image that would change my life forever. A protestor pulled a small pistol out and fired at the developer. He ducked suddenly then ran to his car unharmed. But, Lupall disappeared, my dad found him on the ground breathing heavily with one hand over his heart. My dad picked him up and held him in his arms the crowd was yelling and gawking at him. He was bleeding all over the place, my dad started applying pressure to the wound but Lupall just pushed his hands away, he pulled my dad close and whispered something to him I but couldn't tell what it was. Lupall let go of my father and he fell onto his back still clenching at the hole in his heart. My father had a mixed look of tears and fears. Lupall's breath grew short until it stopped all together. His face opened into a look of shock before he eyes rolled back into his head. The pool of blood spread beneath him, my father slid his hands off of Lupall's shoulders, he was gone. Although I was already in enough shock, I was even more horror-struck by what happened next. A German Shepard, who was my father's friend, put an arm around him; my father reeled around and back fisted him sending him to the ground. He grabbed his rifle, slapped the cell and cocked it. A wild look was in his eyes, he fired it from the hip directly into the crowd with a look in his eyes as if possessed by the devil. The crowd was thrown into pandemonium; several protestors dropped in pain when struck with the fiery bolts of energy. The Shepard got back to his feet and tackled my father to the ground, and was screaming something like 'ARK! ARK! CONTROL YOURSELF! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!' but it was too late my father had lost it. The live broadcast then cut off and the station put up some connection interrupted sign. I turned off the TV and walked up to my room and lay down on my bed, I cried and prayed that what I had just seen wasn't my father and Lupall. How the hell was I going to explain this to my mother?  
  
Wolf paused and rubbed his head with both of his hands, "If this is too hard, you don't have to tell me," Fox said.  
  
"No, it's alright..." he sniffed, "this is one of those things that I really need to get off my chest"  
  
"My mother had found out while she was at work, she came home in tears and tried to explain to me what had happened, but I told her I already knew. My father came home that night he didn't say anything to any of us, he just put his stuff into a closet in his room and went to bed. The next morning he told all of us that he had gotten court-martialed and would be awaiting court in a week, more specifically on the day after my seventeenth birthday. Well during the course of that week my father became really irritable, to the point where my mother and I were afraid to talk to him for fear of being hit. He gave me a swat knife as an early birthday present and told me that he was sorry for the way things had been going. That night however when he got back from the bar, he beat me and my mother again. He had been doing a lot of drinking lately so I kind of felt sorry for him. I forgave him and tried my best to just not get him angry, but I soon discovered that wouldn't be as easy as it sounded. On the night of my birthday my father came home drunk again, he was ranting and raving about something calling my mother a bitch and kicked her several times while she was on the ground. I couldn't stand to see my mother being treated that way I jumped onto my father's back and tried to restrain him...I hope you're ready for this part....what he did next haunts me to this day," Wolf paused and rubbed his eye patch. "My father grabbed a beer bottle from the counter and smashed it over my head then with another quick thrusting motion he sank the jagged bottle into my eye. All I remember seeing was a red flash and then that side went completely dark. Satisfied with what he had done, he turned around and continued to work on my mother. I crawled along the ground, the pain was too much to bear and so was the all the screams and cries coming from my mother. Remember that knife I told you about? Well...I gave it back to him. I got back to my feet and pulled the knife out of my pocket where I had clipped it. I stumbled over to my father with the knife held high above my head, and brought it down and sunk it deep into his back. The slashed arteries began to spurt out from the entrance and exit wounds. My father stopped shouting; he looked down and felt the tip of the gray colored blade protruding through his left pectoral muscle with his fingers. He didn't make a sound, he didn't turn to look at me, he just fell...and quietly bled. My mother continued to cry still holding onto her bruises and scars. I didn't know what to do, I grabbed a dish towel from the table to stick in my eye socket...and then I ran.  
  
"You killed your own father!?" Fox nearly screamed. He was speechless, completely sickened by the act. "How could you?"  
  
"Here's how," Wolf lifted the patch from his left eye revealing a twisted rotten brown meaty flesh-like covering in which the eye had created to heal itself.  
  
Fox's expression changed into a compassionate look, he felt sorry for him now; it was easy to hate someone who you didn't know any thing about. The putrid eye formed a tiny red bubble which popped a second later and sent a tear of blood along the side of the bridge of his nose to the corner of his muzzle. "What's it doing? You're bleeding," Fox pointed out.  
  
"I know, it's trying to cry...but it can't...I can't," he put the eye patch back over his eye, trying to hide his physical and emotional decay. Wolf cleared his throat and started again, "I ran for a while not really knowing where I should go. I ran down this dark alley so I could catch my breath. Just then I was approached by some swine asking me if I was interested in disappearing and making a little money at the same time. I was intrigued by his offer so I accepted. He told me his name was Pigma Dengar, I knew exactly who he was at that point and honestly I couldn't have cared less about this whole brewing war between Corneria and Venom; I needed to find a way out. So I agreed, he took me to Venom and explained that they were in need of an elite fighting squadron and he was lucky to have found one of best upcoming pilots pouring his heart out into the street. I hated him, he was fat and cocky...Andrew as well, I hated him too.  
  
"What about Leon? I remember you two growing up together as friends at the Academy"  
  
"Ah yes, Leon...he was a dear friend of mine, my only friend in fact. He arrived about two weeks after my extensive training on Venom began, I was actually very happy to see him. He brought me news from Corneria, and about my mother. He said that my mother was found dead in my home lying next to my father's corpse holding onto the knife which she had jammed into her chest. The police had come to the conclusion that it was murder- suicide. Supposedly she accidentally killed him for beating her before killing herself when she saw what she had done. The report concluded that I had disappeared without a trace after seeing her kill him. But I knew what really happened, and now so do you."  
  
Fox's eyes lowered, "...sorry about your mother, and I'm sorry for killing Leon."  
  
"Don't worry about it; I would have killed you and your teammates at that point. Well after I went down along with the rest of my team I went unconscious for a while. I awoke out of a coma about a week later, they told me that the war was over and Andross was dead, so basically they kicked me out the door with nothing."  
  
"So what did you do?"  
  
"Well, I didn't exactly just leave, I snuck around the base just killing a few of them and stealing things like money, weapons and then finally a ship. With that ship I flew here and I've been hiding out for a while now." Wolf sat up and brushed himself off, "Follow me, I'll show you what I've been doing nowadays."  
  
Wolf led Fox into that little lean-to shelter that he was hiding in after picking up all the things they had either dropped or thrown away before the fight. There was little room inside the refuge mostly because of a rock the size of an over-inflated basketball. "Have you been living under a rock all this time?" Fox asked.  
  
"Eh, you might say that," Wolf put his hands in two grooves each located on opposite sides of the stone walls. The rock in the middle of the shelter split suddenly and opened up revealing a large hole with a ladder running down the side only large enough for one person. Wolf climbed down first and then was followed by Fox; it was too dark to see anything. Wolf hit a switch next to the latter which caused the rock to contract and create a seal back over the hole. A moment later, there was a dull hum of an electric generator which grew louder with every second. Several florescent lights flickered on overhead revealing a subterranean bunker with metallic floors and walls, along with two hatches seen on most submarines each sticking out of a different wall. Twelve flat screen computer monitors protruded from the wall before flipping around revealing their screens spread evenly around one big green and black map of the Lylat System. Near the back of the room was a large computer terminal with a desk and several keyboards all arcing a hundred-eighty degrees around a leather rotating armchair. Surprisingly the place was very neat, not a spec of dust was on the floor and not a piece of trash or junk was carelessly strewn anywhere, the room was in better shape than the Great Fox was before they took it into the shop. Wolf sniffed damp metallic aroma air and exhaled out loud, "Ah....home sweet home!" he declared.  
  
Fox was very impressed with what he saw, "Quite a nice place you got here, and you did all this yourself?"  
  
"Yes, I've been living underground here for about two years now," Wolf said reclining back in the black leather chair. "Basically what I have here is a large compound where I do all my reconnaissance, hacking, and monitoring frequencies. As of right now I can pretty much break into any channel whether it be Ally or Enemy and listen in on conversations."  
  
"Which would explain how you where able to send me that little message on my PDA," Fox said crossing his arms and giving him a sly look.  
  
"Careful Wolf...he catches on quick," Wolf joked.  
  
"So what else have you got here?" Fox asked.  
  
"Well in there," he said pointing the hatch behind him, "is my weapons cache and ammo dump; basically it's my own little personal armory. I'm sure you've got one on the Great Fox," Fox nodded back. "In that other room," he said pointing to his right, "is basically my room, and kitchen. I'm the only one who's living here so I figured what the hell, roll them all into one." Wolf got up and turned the on the door valve, the heavy hatchway door opened with a creak. Inside were two large refrigerators with a sink and several counters and cupboards next to them. A large pantry, a bed, a laptop resting on a wooden desk with many drawers, chair similar to Wolf's computer room, and two bookcases backed with a several books and data disks. In the middle of the room was a small table round metallic table along with it was only one chair. In the corner was a small room with a normal door leading to his bathroom.  
  
"You know, for someone who lives alone you've got a pretty nice pad," Fox complimented.  
  
"Thank you, I try," Wolf said giving a toothy smile. "Oh yes, and before I forget," he went over to his laptop and ejected a data disk out from the back. "That's a pretty interesting looking vixen you've got hanging all over you. I wanted to know more about her so I borrowed this, but I'm through with it."  
  
Fox took the disk and placed it in his vest pocket before shaking his head, "seems you've gotten pretty good at pick pocketing."  
  
"Unfortunately I've had to kind of creep around at night knocking out rich folk and steal funds, as I would prefer to call them, for my little hideaway."  
  
"Crime's really not a good way to go y'know, Falco could probably tell you a couple of stories about the trouble he's gotten into."  
  
Wolf looked down at the floor, "Yes well...I'm trying to get money so I can hopefully buy myself some citizenship here. I don't know whether you've noticed or not but because my body was never found, the Cornerian government has put a large price on my head. I've been thinking about trying to clone myself, kill the clone and putting him on the doorstep of Cornerian Intelligence Agency along with instructions on where to drop my cash," Wolf laughed.  
  
Fox didn't laugh, he gave him a serious look in the eye, "what do you want me to tell my teammates when I leave?"  
  
"Tell them you didn't meet anyone, but just exchanged conversation on your PDA. You are the only one who knows I exist on this planet and I'd prefer to keep it that way for now. Alright that's enough talk of the crap that's going on, care for a belt of scotch Fox?"  
  
Fox chuckled, "sure, I'll take a glass."  
  
Wolf opened up one of the refrigerators and pulled out a bottle filled with a coppery brown liquid and placed it on the table before getting two glasses out of one of the cupboards. He poured each glass evenly half-full with scotch; Fox took his glass and held it up next to Wolf's. "Cheers Fox."  
  
"To a new and everlasting friendship!" Fox cheered.  
  
"Here, here," Wolf said clinking his glass with Fox's, they both downed their drinks. Wolf cleared his throat before pouring them each another glass, "one more word of warning and I do suggest that you take this one seriously."  
  
Fox gave him an intrigued look.  
  
"...Beware of unexpected gifts."  
  
Authors Note: It's good to see new friendships blossoming isn't it? I'm very concerned about what will happen next and I fear the length of time that it may take to get my plot straight. I'm walking blind along the edge of a knife people! Any and all reviews are welcomed and appreciated. 


	10. Broken In

Disclaimer: READ THIS!!! I do not own any of the StarFox characters or any other names that are Nintendo related or found in any of the StarFox games.  
  
Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the delay guys. I have my plot straight and everything seems to be going according to my plans. Thanks for all your reviews people, enjoy! ^ ^  
  
CHAPTER 10  
Broken In  
  
The new Arwing's engine roared as the craft neared the breech of the sound barrier. Krystal's face was without expression, a look of extreme concentration. She breathed deeply in and out to keep her blood well saturated with oxygen. Fox taught her that if she didn't breathe, the likelihood of blacking out would greatly increase; especially at this speed. She approached her target, which was hovering gracefully in the air. Krystal jerked the stick in several directions causing her Arwing to turn sharply at her command. She quickly straightened out and banked sharply upward before rolling knife edge and diving again. She leveled out once more and smiled, pleased at the chiming sound on her radio indicating she had successfully flown through all the rings.  
  
Pepper stood up straight with his arms folded behind his back in the air traffic control tower. Wearing his officer's uniform he watched Krystal complete yet another training exercise on his monitor. "So let me get this straight, typically you're not going to be able to help us out at all with this war?"  
  
"Well," Fox said leaning back in one of the chairs, "for the time being, I will be able to lend a hand only with homeland security. Without the Great Fox as a mother ship I won't be able to travel that far due to the need of refueling and rest in between missions. Not to mention I still need to work with her some more," Fox said pointing out one of the windows.  
  
Pepper turned around and met Fox's look, "Well we have plenty of cruisers, why not have your team dock in one of them?" Fox only shrugged. "I'm planning on getting most of them up around Sector Y to set up a blockade. I know that area is clean, and I want to have another blockade set up in Asteroid Field: Meteo. However, I'm worried that their might be space mines, concealed artillery turrets, or a few bombers lurking around and waiting for our cruisers to stroll in and get besieged. I'm asking you and your team to lead a squad of fighters into the asteroid field and simply check for what I just listed. Also this might be a good opportunity to take her out and give her some hands on training.  
  
Fox scratched the back of his neck and thought to himself, "Hmm...What's the threat level?"  
  
"Should be minimal, nothing your team wouldn't be able to handle I assure you."  
  
Fox finally caved in, "Alright I'll take the job, when do we launch?"  
  
"We'll move on Wednesday at eighteen-hundred hours, which gives you two days to get yourself ready.  
  
Ok, good enough. Don't worry about a fee for now; you can pay me in full when this war is over. Speaking of which how is the effort going for us?"  
  
Peppers face turned even more serious, he removed his cap and sun glasses and looked Fox straight in the eyes. "Right now, the way I'd like to put it is we're caught in the dark without a light. I've lost contact with every embassy and military station on every planet within these past two weeks. The only planet I can reach is Katina, and unfortunately they have been put in the same exact situation we have. We are both being isolated from the rest of the Lylat; I want to get these blockades up so we can at least have a foothold and protection from any more coup d'etat they might try and pull. As we push on the frontlines even harder we will uncover more which remains hidden and purge any and all Venomian forces which threaten the freedom of our neighboring planets. The time has come once again for us to rise up and protect that for which the Lylat stands for, freedom! Freedom from oppression, freedom from greed, freedom from pain inflicted by a corrupt form of government!"  
  
Just then the radio clicked on and Krystal's voice came over the receiver. "General, that was a great speech, but I'm really starting to get bored out here..."  
  
Fox chuckled to himself, as Pepper turned to his communicator and fit his cap back onto his head and concealed his eyes behind his sunglasses once again. "Ok Krystal playtime is over now...it's time you got a real test. If you should pass, you will be officially recognized as an ace pilot by the Cornerian military. However, if I should have to stop the test for your safety, meaning your shields drop below fifty percent, you will fail. If you should fail you cannot retry again for one week, sound fair enough?"  
  
"Bring it on General, I'm ready!" Krystal boasted.  
  
"Aggression, enthusiasm, and vigilance, she must picking up some of your qualities," Pepper joked to Fox. "I just hope that this new attitude she's acquired won't get in her way when piloting."  
  
Fox folded his arms behind his head and kicked hit feet on top of one of the consoles, "Don't you worry about a thing, I have complete confidence in her."  
  
"Excuse me! Yea, hi, hello, can we get this party started already?" Krystal said becoming more impatient.  
  
Pepper turned his attention to the communicator once more, "Ok Krystal, all you have to do is fly through that one ring five miles north of you."  
  
"Why does that sound easier said than done?" She questioned.  
  
"Initiating in three, two, one!" Pepper then pushed a button on a console to his left. It beeped and then brought the radar sprite of the one ring on both Pepper and Krystal's radars. Krystal pulled a U-turn and took off in the direction of her target.  
  
Within seconds the ring came into visibility and Krystal steadied her Arwing to make a clean pass through the center of it. Suddenly an alarm sounded inside the Arwing and Krystal quickly directed her attention to the status window on the HUD. It flashed the words 'CAUTION! ACTIVE AA DEFENSES DETECTED!' Krystal looked puzzled, "Why would there be AA guns around here when-." Krystal's thoughts were immediately interrupted when a large beam of plasma streaked by her Arwing only missing her only by inches. "Ohmygod!" Krystal shouted, "now I see what you meant by if you should have to end the test for my safety." The single ring was surrounded by eight defense turrets sticking out of the ground, each in a one mile radius from the ring. Krystal did her best to dodge all of the incoming blasts but was quickly overwhelmed with laser fire and had to pull out of her approach. She flew out of range of the turrets and tried starting her approach once again and concentrated as hard as she could like she did when maneuvering through the rings. Dodging was a bit different this time however. Nothing would wait for her, they were coming at you, and one wrong slip could be your last. Krystal was able to make it a little bit farther towards the ring this time, using simple dives and cuts. But as she neared the last mile to the ring the constant fire of all eight turrets at once became overbearing. Trapped with nowhere to move Krystal's Arwing took a direct hit to the center of the hull causing sparks to fly from the armor. Krystal screamed as she was shaken hard by the explosion. Quickly, she pulled up into a U-turn and kicked it into afterburner, jetting herself out of the hot-zone. The turrets stopped firing as soon as the Arwing got out of range. "Damn it!" Krystal cursed seeing her shields at fifty-six percent, "I can't do this Fox," she whined.  
  
Fox's voice came out scratchy through her earpiece on Krystal's headset. "You can do it, I know you can, you're just not using what tools you have. First of all, you should run a scan on those turrets because I'll guarantee you they have a weakness of some sort. Second of all, you can't expect to pass simply by just strolling on in with a couple of fancy moves. You need speed, so try coming in from above and getting a drop on the guns. Oh yes, and one more thing, when you barrel roll the reflector shield is engaged which will deflect laser fire."  
  
"Ok Fox, I'll do my best," she responded.  
  
"I know you can do it, I love you Krystal," Fox said.  
  
Krystal smiled to herself, hearing his words caused a warm feeling to wash over her inside. Suddenly she got all the confidence in herself that she would ever need. She ran a scan on the closest turret picked up by the threat detector. She studied the scanner's analysis on the turret while maintaining steady flight out of the turrets range. The analysis read: 'Cornerian Anti-Aircraft Defense Turret (BETA): This type of turret as opposed to ALPHA is designed to be slower and weaker for the purpose of training novice pilots. Scanners show a substantial decrease in the speed of vertical movement, a high altitude approach is recommended. Maximum effective range: 3,200 meters  
  
"Ok, that sounds easy enough," Krystal said cracking her knuckles. She kicked her Arwing into afterburner and rocketed herself up high above the ground out of the guns' range. She made her approach until she was inside the ring's defense perimeter. She pushed the stick forward and pitched toward the ground, rapidly gaining speed with the ring in her sights. The guns instantly came alive again and started shooting up the sky but they couldn't keep up with her. She turned her head thinking she blew right by the ring but quickly drew her attention to the ground which was approaching fast. Even though pulling several G's, she pulled up as hard as she could to keep herself from crashing. Her radio chimed again, she looked behind her to see to her satisfaction the guns deactivating and retreating back into their holes. "WOO-HOO!" Krystal shouted while spinning her ship into several barrel rolls as a victory dance.  
  
"Congratulations Krystal you've done it," Pepper said over the radio, "You are now officially recognized as an Ace Pilot."  
  
"Nice job Krys, you did great out there," Fox butted in, his voice filled with amusement. "But that's enough fun for today" he continued, "let's head back I'm starved."  
  
"Ok, I'll wait for ya out here, over"  
  
Fox got up out of his chair and stretched, "Later Pep, see ya this Wednesday."  
  
"Good day Fox, make sure you're ready"  
  
Fox left Pepper in the control tower and took the short walk over to his Arwing which was parked nearby. He pushed a few buttons on his PDA and his Arwing came alive and opened it's cockpit for him. He hopped inside and put on his communicator and fastened himself in while he waited for the engine to warm up and computers to run their checks. He reached beside the seat for his gloves but they weren't there. A puzzled look crossed his face and he searched all around the cockpit for his gloves but couldn't find them. Finally he turned on his radio, "Krystal, you haven't seen my gloves have you?" he asked.  
  
"Nope, haven't seen them anywhere Fox," she said with a slight giggle in her response.  
  
"You took them again didn't you," Fox replied with a hint of annoyance as his Arwing began its vertical take off. "What's wrong with the pair we gave you for your birthday?"  
  
"They just feel too tight, I like yours because they're soft and they're already broken in," she said as Fox flew up next to her.  
  
"Well you gotta just wear them all the time and they'll soften up before you know it. Plus the one's you're wearing have what you call sentimental value to them; my father gave them to me when he was teaching me to fly. Though they were huge on me back then as you can imagine."  
  
"In that case, I'm sorry, I have no business wearing them," she said with a frown.  
  
"No that's fine," he replied back. "Just next time ask me when you want to borrow them, I nearly give myself a heart attack when I can't find them."  
  
"Hey Fox, can we just fly for a little while longer? I'm having fun out here," she said looking over at him with a large smile across her face.  
  
"Sure Krys, why don't you show me a little more that you have been learning from me. Better yet, why don't we make a little bet?" he said returning the smile. "In order to win you need to do is get a full radar lock on the other person for five seconds. Think you can handle it?"  
  
"Sure I'm game, what are the terms?" she asked.  
  
"Winner gets the gloves, loser gets the one we got for you."  
  
"Deal"  
  
"Alright, I'll evade first in the dogfight position," Fox said while speeding up in front of her. "When you're ready, get a lock and then hold it....if you can," Fox said in his devious tone. Fox flew level just below the sound barrier with Krystal right behind him. As soon as Krystal switched her weapon mode to cannon, her targeting system chirped, indicating she had a lock. Fox's HUD turned yellow and his lock warning alarm buzzed. Almost out of instinct, he opened his jammers and threw his throttle forward disabling his engine. Rolling knife edge at the same time his Arwing dropped like a rock and Krystal shot right by him. He then closed the jammers, went back into afterburner and positioned himself right on her tail. This the tables had turned and now he was on the offensive.  
  
One-Thousand-One Krystal rolled to the left and right desperately trying to throw off Fox's lock but he stayed right with her.  
  
One-Thousand-Two She pulled up as hard as she could, forcing her Arwing into a somersault. Fox smirked at the amateur trick and followed.  
  
One-Thousand-Three Krystal rolled upside down and pulled again into a U-turn, she started feeling a little light-headed but she was able to perform the maneuver. When she looked behind her, Fox was still there and he still had his lock.  
  
One-Thousand-Four She slammed on the brakes and tried to ditch Fox they same way he ditched her. But Fox saw it coming and had slowed down in time.  
  
One-Thousand-Five "That's it sweetheart, bang, you're dead!" Fox said flying up next to her.  
  
"Humph...you can keep your gloves, they smell bad anyway..." Krystal said.  
  
"You sound a little angry, c'mon don't be a poor sport, did your really expect to beat me?" Krystal said nothing. "Actually, you wanna hear something that WILL make you angry?" Krystal did not reply again. "You could have completed that test in about five seconds and not have had a scratch on you, but you weren't using your head. You left your wings in all-range mode and your flaps were open for better turning. What you should have done is set your wings back so you would have enhanced speed to blow right by all those guns. Especially with only one ring, what would you need turning capability for? You could have shot through it like a dart and passed the test in less than ten seconds.  
  
"Oh thanks Fox, completely own me out here, and now make me feel stupid. Well aren't you just the best boyfriend?" her tone filled with sarcasm.  
  
"Would you wait a minute, I'm not finished yet. I'll have you know that when I first did the test, I used the method I just described to you. But what you did impressed me, and I think that you will do just fine in actual combat." Krystal still did not reply but instead grinned a little to herself.  
  
They both landed in the hanger so they could use Trent's fuel instead of the vats they had stored in The Great Fox. Krystal walked up to Fox and pushed the gloves into his chest then turned and walked away. "Hey wait a minute!" Fox said catching up to her. "C'mon quit hanging your head, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I mean think about it; my dad was had me inside ships and showing me all kind of neat things since I was five...but I told you how that came to an end. Hey, would you look at me when I'm talking to ya?!" Fox said giving her a slap on the rear with his tail. Once he had her attention and her eyes gazing into his, he placed the gloves into hers and closed her fingers around them. A smile came out of hiding on her face. "These belonged to a great pilot and were given to what was to become a great pilot in the future. Now as a great pilot, I am passing them to you, another to become a great pilot in the future," He said softly.  
  
She pulled herself close to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I love you," she whispered into his ear. They both leaned in close until their lips touched and wrapped around each other to expose the true feelings of love they had for one another.  
  
"Ahem, I'm not interrupting am I?" Trent said intruding on the romantic moment.  
  
"No...not at all," Fox said sarcastically while breaking the kiss.  
  
Trent cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I thought I'd just like to inform you that being the generous person I am, I'm giving you one of my cars that I had customized."  
  
"A car...What good is a car in space?"  
  
"Well, I just thought you could have a designated car down here, c'mon the cars parked outside," Trent said. Fox and Krystal followed Trent to the back door of the hanger where the where a Red Cadillac Convertible was parked outside.  
  
"Ooh, it's got tires! I hardly saw any of those while we were out on the road!" Krystal exclaimed.  
  
"She's a classic alright, just put a brand new engine in their too. I'm tellin' you that engine purrs and will ride like dream.  
  
"I've seen that kind of car somewhere before Fox said scratching his head....hmm....oh well," Fox said curiously. "Seriously though, don't you have anything better to do, like FIX UP THE GREAT FOX?" he stressed. "I swear; I must not give you enough work to keep you busy."  
  
"Alright enough, do you want the car or not?" Trent said holding out the keys. "Cause if you're not interested I could always put it up for sale"  
  
"No that won't be necessary Trent thanks," Fox said snatching the keys from him and tossing them to Krystal. "Here, you drive; I know how much fun you have when you pilot stuff."  
  
"Goodie!" Krystal exclaimed, before skipping off with the keys.  
  
"So what else have you done with this car?" Fox asked Trent.  
  
"Well" he began, "I equipped it with a remote starter and-" Trent's voice just started to fade off, his lips moved but Fox couldn't hear what he was saying.  
  
Fox felt himself getting very dizzy and the world around him seemed to change shape. He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to clear the faint feeling. When he opened his eyes he wasn't in the hanger anymore. He was in the drive way of someone's house looking at the same car, only this time it was parked near the curb on the side of the road. He gasped when he saw who was in it. It was...his mother.....Vixy! "Goodbye sweetheart, I'll only be gone a minute. You and you and your father stay out of trouble while I'm gone," she said warmly from the car window, but she but Fox wasn't the one she was talking to.  
  
Keeping the same perplexed expression, he looked to his left and saw a little vulpine sitting in the grass playing with a little model fighter jet. "Bye Bye Mommy, I love you!" the little vulpine spoke up in a high pitched voice. Fox recognized the little vulpine, it was him...seventeen years ago. Fox's heart felt like it was suddenly squeezed by his ribcage, he was afraid of what might happen next. Vixy turned the key but the engine didn't start, there was only a click that could be heard for miles around. A millisecond later a blast of orange and yellow fire blew out from all the windows plumed above the car. The Young Fox was caught completely off guard and was knocked onto his back from the explosion. The immense heat picked the car up off the ground and let it dangle ten feet in the air. The reflection of the car and the flames gleamed in the gloss of both their eyes. Another second later it crashed back down onto the street, and left the two of them speechless. An older vulpine burst through the front door after hearing the calamity caused by the explosion. He whispered something to himself and grabbed Young Fox by the back of his shirt collar and pulled him inside the house.  
  
Fox was left alone with the burning wreck that would forever be his mother's coffin. Everything sank in him, his muscles felt weak he could no longer stand. Just then, someone came up behind him and put their paw on his shoulder. Fox whipped around to meet the last person he'd ever think to see, it was Wolf! "...Beware of un-expected gifts," he said in a grave tone.  
  
Fox gave him a confused look but something snapped, the visions were gone, he was back at the hanger. Fox's throat was dry from the visions he had just seen but he yelled as loud as his lungs would let him. "KRYSTAL! STOP WAIT! NO!!"  
  
She put the key into the ignition.......  
  
Author's Note: Oh my...that was very evil of me. I regret to inform everyone that I will be leaving home on June 24th, exactly when school ends for me. There are no computers or internet connection in where I'm going so I'm afraid I won't have an update until I get back on August 13th. But rest assured that I will work as fast and as hard as I possibly can to get everyone Chapter 11 before I leave. Please review everyone, you've been a great help! ^_^ 


	11. Semper Fi!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright fine anonymous, ask and you shall receive. Here's the update that I finished last November but never posted. It'll pretty much answer the question that drives you all mad. But yea, I've been really at a loss of inspiration for this story. I kind of feel like "What's it all for?" But if you guys like it I'll work on it whenever I can. Stupid College.

Oh yea, you might find this chapter a little confusing. But I'll explain it at the end if you're still kind of lost. For those of you who have seen the movie Pulp Fiction, this is something along those lines.

CHAPTER 11

Semper Fi!

Steady...Placid...Rhythmus...

Breathe in, breathe out; and so goes the metrical patterns of sleep. Though physically in a state of anesthesia, the mind continues to remain active and dwell upon all that we've touched and all that we've seen. We try to shade out what we wish to forget, but uncontrollably it taints the depths of our memories.

Stagnant...Violent...Smoke on the horizon...

Wolf was both barefoot and shirtless in the main room of his hideout. Though with the lights on and the soft hum of the generators which purred around him, he had no trouble sleeping at all. Resting on the desk of the terminal was a burning stick of incense held by a wooden tray for catching the ash. The aroma calmed his mind and relaxed his muscles creating the perfect atmosphere for sleep. Surroundings simply did not matter when you were reclined in the most comfortable chair imaginable. His arms were folded across his furry chest and his feet propped up on the terminal. His ear slightly twitched and the pain of his dreams caused him to squint sporadically.

The lizard pilot relaxed after reducing his speed enough to make the ride in the small Katinian civilian transport more enjoyable. The lupine clenched his teeth, movement and especially vibrations caused him a lot of pain, he had to get used to this new body. He glanced at the other seven canine passengers from behind his dark sunglasses. Most of them were engineers or inventors; to them it was any other weekend of mining for raw materials. They were all having fun socializing with other unaware of what was about to happen to them.

"Captains Log: February 13th 5013, thirteen fifty-six hours, Flight zero-one-zero-niner, successfully entered Titanian airspace," the pilot recorded.

"Is it time to lighten the load yet?" The lizard copilot said into his headset.

"Yea I think it is," The pilot replied taking off his headset and set the ship to autopilot, the copilot did the same and walked into the passenger area. "Just sit tight, this will all be over in a second," the pilot said. The lupine gave a nod and fastened his safety belt a little tighter around his waist. Both the pilot and copilot simultaneously pulled out a Venomian standard issue sidearm which they kept concealed behind their backs. All conversation stopped and everyone focused on the muzzle of each gun pointed their way.

"Alright boys; women, children and shit, jump first!" the copilot spoke in a loud voice. The pilot slammed his fist into a button near the door to the cockpit. The back door of the transport opened, creating a roaring sound and letting in the light and exposing the pale orange sky and red soils.

"Enough gawking, we can do this either of two ways, the clean way, or the messy way!" No-one moved. The passengers where too petrified to even think let alone act. "Messy way it is then," the pilot raised the gun two the nearest passenger's head and pulled the trigger. There was a quick red flash from the muzzle of the gun and then there was an explosive stain of crimson mixed with bits of gray and white splattered on the wall behind the passenger who fell into his lap. The remaining passengers flinched and closed their eyes trying to hold back their tears of fear. The lupine however sat with the same stoic look his face blankly staring at the wall in front of him.

The pilot raised his gun to the next passenger's head, "No! Please don't shoot me! I'll walk, I'll walk!" the passenger cried. He slowly unbuckled himself and started walking towards the back of the cabin. He stopped at the middle of the ramp and muttered a prayer to himself. Just as quick as he leapt out of the ship, he disappeared from sight. The pilot pointed the gun at the next passenger and he did the same.

One after another each passenger leapt from the ship to their deaths. A couple would plead with God and pray before they made that last step off solid ground. Others just remained silent the whole time and slowly wept with each pace before they two would plummet to the ground below. The last one stopped on the middle of the ramp and turned to the pilot, "I hope the devil has his fun with you when your time is up..." he said.

The pilot laughed at the remark and said, "Ha ha, you'll see him before I do."

The copilot laughed with him, "Don't worry about a thing. You're more likely to die from a heart attack or shock before you actually hit the ground, you won't feel a thing." The passenger turned his back and held up his middle finger to both of them. The pilot fired another shot which struck the passenger in the middle of the back and knocked him off the edge. "That wasn't too hard," the copilot said holstering his sidearm.

"No, I guess not," the pilot said doing the same. "Roll that stiff out the back would ya?" The pilot said returning to the cockpit.

The copilot un-buckled the canine that was profusely bleeding out of a gaping hole in the back of his head and let him fall out of the seat along the wall. With one hard kick, his body tumbled down the ramp and off the back of the ship. "Enjoy the entertainment?" the copilot said to the lupine while pushing the button to close the ramp.

The lupine retorted with a raised eyebrow from behind his shady sunglasses. He was in too much pain to take pleasure in watching others die. It's an acquired state of pain created by cognitive dissonance. It kindles when a past is stained with constant death dealt to the innocent, and explodes in a flame when the only ones you can call friends perish before your very eyes. For so many years he was the dealer, but the time finally came around when he was hit by the iron fist not only in his body but in his mind as well. Physically he felt just as horrible; it takes a long time to get used to prosthetic limbs. Especially when it's more than one prosthesis. Every movement felt unnatural. Moving or rotating any joint didn't feel like he used nerves, muscles or tendons anymore. It felt more like turning a gear or pulling a cable. The hardest thing to get over was his heart. It didn't beat naturally anymore either. That rhythmic pulse was replaced by a distinguished tick and hiss. He didn't feel alive anymore, he died long ago and has remained dead on the inside since the crash. He closed his eyes and swallowed the pains back down to the pit of his heart where he would hide them forever and allowed himself to drift to sleep.

The ship roared over the lands towards a giant mountain covered in orange sand and rocks. It continued it's coarse around the base until it reached a small bunker silver bunker which was starting to have sand carried by winds pile up on its sides. The ship slowed its decent and prepared itself for a landing. The hanger bay doors opened and awaited the ship to dock. The approach slowed down to a crawl and then to a hover as it neared the door and glided in. It stopped in the middle of the hanger, deployed its landing gear and set down quite hard. The jolt shook the lupine out of his slumber. "C'mon, it's time to go," the pilot said, "The general's waiting." The copilot opened ramp the passengers had taken a leap off of.

The lupine unfastened his belt, got up and stretched after the long journey. He began making his way down the ramp; he wondered what it must have felt like to be one of those poor souls who were forced to plummet to their deaths. "Almost sounds like fun," he thought to himself. And with the way things had been going he knew he was serious. He wondered who this so-called general was who requested his presence at this junk yard of a planet. He stepped off from the ship and entered the dirty steel colored hanger which was bustling with activity. He followed behind the two pilots and exited through a door near the back of the hanger. The door lead to an office decorated swords and a strange banner the lupine had never seen before. Whoever this general was he obviously had a taste for blades due to the large collection he had mounted on the wall behind his desk. Instead of using conventional lighting, the room was lighted by torches mounted on the walls. A giant metal chair whipped around from behind desk, sitting in it was a large lizard. "Ah, Wolf O'Donnell," the lizard said slowly rising from his chair. He wore what seemed to look like steel spiked combat armor over a battle tunic. He seemed to have lost his left hand and replaced it with a gruesome looking double hook. He was massive, his colossal size would strike fear into even the most valiant of soldiers.

Wolf stood silent for a moment admiring the lizard's size. Though he was completely awestruck he kept the same stoic look. "Are you the one who requested my services?"

"Yesss," he hissed. "I hear that you were once the captain of the best...well, second best flight squad in the Lylat."

Wolf's eyes narrowed and his lip curled revealing teeth in the corner of his mouth. Just those words made worms of rage seem to crawl under his skin and flex his muscles for him. "He's got a lot of nerve," Wolf thought to himself. He prayed for vengeance some day, some how, against StarFox. "What is it that you want?" he asked as politely as he could while fighting urge to kill him right then and there.

"Forgive my discourtesy; I am General Scales, Commanding Officer of the SharpClaw Army. I come to because I am in need of expertise, and to my understanding, you have a great deal of it." Wolf stood a little straighter and folded his arms, now he was paying attention. Scales knew that he got Wolf irritated with that comment of his and he knew that he had to calm him back down before asking any favors. "That's a nice jacket you're wearing," he pointed out.

"Yes, I had them custom made for each member of my team," Wolf responded. His jacket was made completely of black leather. It had that tough look to it on the outside, but hidden behind all that robust was it's softness that engulfed him and become his second skin. Silver chain epaulets decorated each of his shoulders. Beneath them ran a silver stripe with a black streak parting the silver band along with two of the same style stripes running two inches above his wrists on both arms. Along the back of the jacket going horizontal from one shoulder to the next was 'STARWOLF', in silver of course. This officially made the owner of the jacket part of the squad. And to top it all off, covering his heart in silver lettering was 'Captain Wolf O'Donnell'.

"Getting back to the topic on hand, are you good with espionage?" Scales asked. Wolf stayed silent and gave a nod. "Good," Scales continued, "I need someone who is devious enough to carry out my wet-works for me. Do you think you can handle that?"

Wolf grinned, "For a price I can," Wolf scoffed.

"Name it."

Wolf contemplated his desires before responding. "Well...I'm not sure it's money I want," he said.

"Well get on with it then!" Scales said getting annoyed.

"I was wondering if you could provide me with a ship," Wolf continued.

"A ship...what kind of ship?" Scales asked.

"Fighter class, Wolfen III, I just finished the blueprints for it shortly after you summoned me. You see, the faster you can have my precious Wolfen built, the faster I can use it to your aid. This fighter will make my job a lot easier, which in turn, will make your job a lot easier. You scratch my fur; I scratch your...scales..." Wolf said fumbling with his words.

"Very well, the sooner you can get me the plans the sooner I can have your 'precious' built," Scales mocked jokingly. "We'll also be sending someone down with you eventually to help you out and keep tabs on you." He continued.

"I'd much rather work alone." Wolf retorted.

"I'm afraid that's not a possibility," Wolf grumbled. "I wouldn't worry much about it. We'll get you everything you need to start off, including your new home which will be an abandoned fall out shelter for Cornerian VIPs. It's been around for a while but we think that all the generators should still be functional inside. We will give you all the technology you'll need in order to hack frequencies and tap into databases. We will be abandoning this base and moving on to our secondary objective, taking control over Dinosaur Planet. This will only be a cover operation for our Primary Objective."

"And what's that?" Wolf interrupted.

"Taking control of the Lylat!" Scales roared.

"Ah yes, like that's never been attempted before," Wolf responded.

"Yes but this time we will succeed! One army isn't acting alone this time..." Wolf looked at him with a raised eyebrow of curiosity. "Well...as I was saying, once your ship is completed we will abandon this base, and here it will silently wait for your return. We are working on a teleportation device which hopefully will be able to take you from your hide out to this hanger in no time at all. Does this satisfy your needs?"

"I believe so," Wolf responded.

"Excellent, it's a deal then!" Scales roared.

Wolf's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up abruptly and he rubbed his face. His eyes still felt heavy, he didn't feel like he was ready to wake up but he did. The amber on the stick of incense faded away and the scented smoke ceased it's dancing in the air. He got up out of his chair stretched his arms in the air and gave a great big yawn. He looked towards the hatch behind him; the one he said led to the armory. He walked over to the hatch, turned the release valve and pushed it open. Once inside, he flicked the lights on. The room was quite small and looked about the size of a small hallway. There were shelves and boxes piled up along the sides of the walls. Along side of one wall was a large generator about the size of a refrigerator. It had a door just like one too, inside were holders and ports for power magazines and clips of all sizes. When activated, the generator would fully recharge the clips of plasma energy. Most of the weapons on the shelves were full auto plasma rifles and plasma pistols. However, he did have a few conventional cartridge/projectile firearms lying about. In the boxes he kept some BDUs, armor, and other equipment. He walked slowly to the end of the hallway where what looked like a large mirror hung from the wall. It was the transporter Scales gave him to take him back to the bunker on Titania. He touched the mirror which caused it to ripple like a rock thrown into undisturbed water. He wanted to see his ship again and he knew this was the only thing to get him there. He used the transporter once before and as he recalls it was a painful journey. Elbow deep within the borderline, this hurt a little but it's something he got used to. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to prepare himself for the pain it would inflict on him.

Wolf's ears perked up all of a sudden, he heard his door disguised as a rock start to open. He instantly withdrew his arm and grabbed a pistol off of the nearest shelf. He cocked the gun and felt it warm in his hand; he hurried over to the door of his armory and aimed at the ladder while still keeping his body unexposed behind the doorway. He caught sight of blood dropping down through the entrance. One leg stuck down through the hole and stepped on one of the rungs of the ladder. That leg of its pants was soaked in blood. It tried to bring its other leg down with it, but it screamed in pain and fell the rest of the way down onto the floor. It appeared to be a frog; Wolf knew from the scream who it was right away. He lowered his gun and stepped out from behind the door. "Caiman!" Wolf growled, "I thought I told you never come back here."

Caiman staggered to his feet and tried to keep all his weight on his right leg. "I'm sorry Wolf, I didn't have a choice!" he groaned.

"You're damn right you didn't have a choice, and THIS PLACE certainly wasn't one of them!" Wolf shouted. "And another thing, DON"T call me Wolf, to you, my name is Mr. O'Donnell!"

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry I came here but I need to stay here for a little while," Caiman whined.

"I'll decide how long you can stay," Wolf responded. "That all depends on how much of a bad mood you can take me out of. So don't just stand there, what happened!?" Wolf shouted.

"I got shot..." Caiman whimpered.

Wolf clenched his teeth and tugged at the fur on the top of his head. "Grrrrrrrr, I CAN SEE THAT YOU NUMBSKULL!!" Wolf barked. "I can ALSO see that you're bleeding all over the place! Hell I bet you left a bloody red carpet leading the entire goddamn planet to my front door! What the hell were you doing?"

"I was trying to take out StarFox"

"YOU WHAT!?"

"I-I-I-I thought it was what you wanted me to do," Caiman stammered

Wolf was getting angrier by the minute, "What I told you was to take your damn bombs and get lost!! I didn't want any of your goddamn help, and I told you to never let me see your hideous face ever again," Wolf said showing his back to him.

"Umm......One more thing Wolf," Wolf snapped the gun back up from his hip and zeroed it right between Caiman's two big frog eyes. Caiman flinched back and covered his face with his hands. "Mr. O'Donnell, Mr. O'Donnell is what I meant, sorrysorrysorrysorry!!!" he shrieked. Wolf slammed the gun down on the desk of the terminal and turned his back. Caiman started up again, "Umm, I talked," Wolf whipped around and glared deep into Caiman's fear struck eyes. "They know all about you and your mission on Corneria." Wolf snarled and bared his teeth, he ripped open one of the desk drawers and pulled out a large silver scorpion knife. Caiman's eye bulged at the sight of the knife. "Wolf I'm sorry, they were gonna torture and kill me if I didn't!!" Caiman cried.

Wolf laughed to himself, "Well ya know what? You should have let them do it and get it over with so I wouldn't have to!" With that Wolf punched a button on the terminal, the generators died down and all the lights faded out. The room was silent except for Caiman's rapid breathing and a droplet of sweat hitting the floor. "Please Wolf, don't kill me, I beg of you." Caiman begged

Wolf's voice seemed to echo from all around causing Caiman to gasp. "O'Donnell...today my name is...Mr. O'Donnell." Just then something pointy hit caiman three inches below his sternum. He was only able to let out a slight yelp before his esophagus constricted and he couldn't breathe. Wolf rocked the blade like a seesaw upwards through his sternum, its razor sharp edge cutting through bone and any flesh that got in its way. Wolf grabbed him by the top of his shoulder and pulled him down making it easier for him to pull the knife. When he got to his throat he pulled the knife out violently and kneed him in the face sending Caiman onto his back. The generators made snapping noises as they re-activated.

Wolf walked back over to Caiman's corpse and spat on it. "Look what you made me do! I try and show you some hospitality but you blow up in my face and now you make a mess I have to clean up! Humph...serves ya right." Wolf went into his kitchen and grabbed three garbage bags. He tried to carefully slip it around the corpse so he didn't spill his bodily fluids anywhere else. The slipped the other two bags around the first bag so they wouldn't tear. He then tightened the bags shut using some zip ties. He dragged the homemade body bag over to the ladder and dropped it onto the floor. He went over to his closet and threw on a pair of his boots and grabbed his gloves which were in a metal basket hanging off the door. He took his trench coat off of his hanger when something else caught his eye. He pushed the rest of his jackets and clothes over to one side and found his old StarWolf jacket. He threw the trench coat onto the floor and took the jacket off of the hanger. He held the jacket up to his snout; it still had brand new fresh leather smell. He put the jacket on and zipped it all the up to his neck. The feel of the jacket sent shivers down his spine, the interior felt so soft on his bare back and chest. It molded his body and became part of him like a second skin. To him it was a treasure; it gave him that feeling of comfort like a security blanket would to a young pup.

When he was done wallowing in the coziness of the jacket he put on his gloves and grabbed a gas can out of the armory. He brought it over to the ladder and scratched his head trying to figure out how to get the corpse up the ladder. "Alright listen you," he commanded. "You get one speck of blood on this jacket and I'll kill ya....again." He grabbed it by the ankles or the neck, he couldn't be sure; but then he thought to himself. "There has to be an easier way of doing this..." Wolf got went back into his armory and got some nylon rope out of one of the boxes. He tied a timber hitch around Caiman's corpse from outside the trash bag. He coiled the excess rope around his shoulder and climbed up the ladder with it. When he got outside he tossed the rope on the ground and started pulling Caiman up hand over hand. In no time at all, he dragged him outside of the little shelter and out into the open. He went back for the can of gasoline and quickly returned. He didn't bother to close the door and make it look like a rock again; nobody comes to this park anyways anymore.

With the coil of rope around his right shoulder and the gas can in the same hand, he dragged Caiman out of the park and down the street. He wasn't too concerned with the bags ripping since they were marked 'heavy duty', however dragging the corpse was beginning to tire him. "Fatigue rears it's ugly head," Wolf said wiping sweat from his brow. "Perhaps I should have let you bleed a little more back at the hideout to lighten the load, don't you agree?" Wolf said to Caiman. "I kind of like you this way Caiman, I say anything I want and you won't say or do anything stupid to piss me off." He sighed and stuck his hand into the pocket in his jacket. He felt a small box, when he pulled it out and discovered it was a pack of cigarettes. "Hmm..." he stopped, "I remember the days when I used to smoke, I haven't picked up a cigarette in years." He patted himself down until he found a lighter in another pocket. He dropped everything in his hands and lit up. He felt like his old self again; a tough looking leather jacket, and a cigarette sticking out from his muzzle. He felt cool again, that lasted until he tried to inhale which turned out to be very unsuccessful. Wolf started coughing furiously and doubled over, "Oh lord! I didn't think it was possible to forget how to use these damn things!" He spat. He stuck the cigarette back in his muzzle and coughed a little more while picking up everything he dropped and started down the street again. "You know what? I think the only reason I picked up this filthy habit was to just try and look like a bad ass. I'm one of those lupines who care too much for his appearance I guess." It suddenly dawned on Wolf that he was smoking and carrying a can full of gasoline. "Hmm, that's using my head," he said flicking the cigarette away.

Wolf had to walk a little bit farther until he reached his destination, a large brown dumpster. "Well, here we are ol' boy, your crematorium," He said to Caiman. He undid the rope which was binding Caiman from outside the bag. He opened the lid to the dumpster and wrinkled his nose at the stench that raced out. "Phew, I don't care if there's a war, that's no excuse for the city to ignore waste removal!" He said waving a gloved paw in front of his nose. "Oh! Now that I think about it, I AM taking care of waste removal!" he laughed to himself. He hoisted the corpse up onto his shoulders, and with one big shove, he threw Caiman into the dumpster. He unscrewed the nozzle of the can of gasoline and poured it all over the inside of the dumpster, getting most of it on Caiman. He stepped away from the dumpster and lit another cigarette, he thought about trying to take another puff of it but he reminded himself of how unpleasant all that gagging was. He turned to the dumpster again and saluted it. "It's been great chatting with you Caiman; if you'd just shut up and not do anything half-witted you could probably earn a lot of respect. Too bad you didn't learn that lesson while you were still alive." Without lowering his salute he tossed the lit cigarette into the dumpster. All it took was ten seconds and Wolf had a good fire going. "StarWolf salutes you Caiman..."

He lowered his hand from his brow and stuck both his hands in his pockets. "Ah yes...this lupine isn't going to need these any more." He said tossing the pack of smokes in the fire after realizing they were still in his jacket. As he made his way back to the park, he thought about his sanity, weather it was all there or not. Granted he was a very bright Wolf, a mixture of street smarts and stuff he picked up at the academies he attended. He thought about how many people in the world actually talk to a stiff they just butchered minutes ago. Probably only murderers and serial killers, had he become one of them? "NO!" he thought himself, "I am a mercenary, I am a captain of an elite flight squad, and I AM WOLF O'DONNELL!" He sighed to himself. He wasn't the same anymore, that jacket deserved to be burned just as much as Caiman did. He wasn't a captain anymore, just a washed up pilot abandoned by the army that took him in. He frowned, "I need more friends..."

When he got back to his hideout he dropped down the ladder and shut the door when he got to the bottom. He tossed his gloves onto the desk of the terminal and through his jacket onto the chair. He glanced over at the pool of blood over by where he stabbed Caiman, there was much more blood than he thought. "Should probably clean that slime up before it starts to reek," he thought to himself.

He went into his kitchen and got some cleaning supplies from beneath the sink. He dumped some Bleach on the blood. He put on some latex gloves and began scrubbing and sopping up the pools of blood. "Damn bloodstains, always the hardest thing to get out of any surface," he said out loud. Just then something was pressed again the back of his head, it was small and felt circular. He heard a click and then a whirring sound, the small circle on the back of his head got warmer. The hair on his neck stood up, he knew what that circle was. It was the muzzle of a fully loaded, ready to fire, pistol. "Well..." Wolf chuckled nervously. "I see that you've caught me in a rather compromising position."

Krystal was just about to turn the key when she heard Fox yelling his lungs out. "Fox what's wrong?" she asked as he ran frantically up to the car.

"Out now!" he said after ripping the door open. He grabbed Krystal by the arm and pulled her out with so much force she almost fell over. Fox pulled her back to where he and Trent where was standing. "You said there was a remote starter, where is it?" he asked her.

Krystal shrugged, "I don't know, it wasn't on the key ring."

Trent piped up, "Uh, the guy who installed it has the remote" he said looking around. "It was one of those last minute jobs." Trent finally caught sight of who he was looking for. "Heyyo, new guy!" A frog that was rummaging through a tool box turned around with a confused look on his face. He pointed his finger to himself wondering if he was the one Trent was calling. "Yea you!" Trent shouted, "get over here!"

He slowly made his way over looking at the ground. "Is there something wrong sir?" he asked weakly.

"Yea, where's the damn remote for the car?" Trent hollered.

"Oh...right here," he said pulling the little car remote out of his pocket. Fox made note that he didn't look any of them in the eye. A true sign that someone is either guilty or hiding something.

"Gimme that," Fox said snatching the remote out from his grasp. Fox stared at him a little longer; he still didn't pick his head up. He turned to face the car and pushed the activator on the remote, at first there was nothing. Fox tried again this time holding the button in, there was a click, a second of silence and then a large bang. The car burst into flames, the explosion caused every head to turn in the hanger and nearly knocked Trent and Krystal off their feet. Fox on the other hand stood like a rock gazing into the fiery blaze for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed, something like this had already happened to somebody he loved and he sure as hell made sure it didn't happen again. He turned back to the frog that gave him the remote and was instantly greeted with a green fist in his left eye stunning him momentarily.

The nameless assassin hit and ran past Fox towards the burning vehicle. Fox shook off the stun and pulled his pistol from his holster, but before he had a chance to aim a gunshot rang out from behind him. The shot stuck struck the assassin in the back of the leg and went straight through right below his knee cap. He instantly dropped to the ground squealing in pain. Fox turned around to see Krystal on sight with her finger on the trigger ready to fire again. "Can I finish him off Fox, before my ears start bleeding with that girlish screaming of his?"

Fox snickered, "No, I would like to ask our guest a few questions first. Call up the guys and tell them to get here as soon as they can."

"Okies," Krystal said holstering her blaster.

The assassin was dizzy, he was rapidly losing blood and he did not know what was in store for him. He had a great perspective the cloudy sky until Fox walked over to him. "Don't die just yet; we haven't had our fun with you. Wait a minute...don't I know you from somewhere?" Fox said. The assassin saw spots starting to cloud his vision, they started to get larger and move around more. His mind had trouble putting together the puzzles his eyes put in front of him. The spots all seemed to come together forming one big black cloud, he was out.

Within the black void of the comatose state, the assassin could not decipher the voices echoing around him. On top of that, he was still unable to break through the darkness and awaken himself.

"You could be right Fox; I think we may have encountered him during the war," Falco said.

"Yea but where?" Slippy asked.

"I dunno, that's the thing," Fox said, "We normally taunted only bosses and we killed ALL the bosses we taunted, so I think that rules that out. What do you think Pep?"

"Hell I don't know Fox," Peppy said adjusting the glasses resting on his nose. "I'm old; I have trouble remembering what we did last week!"

Everyone got a good laugh until Falco silenced them all. "Hey shuddup, he's gonna wake up!"

Slowly the frog's eyes slid open, he tried to move but he couldn't. His hands and feet were bound to the table he was lying on. The room around him was dark and empty except for five individuals standing around him and a bright light burning into his forehead. "What's your name?" Falco asked.

"Ugh...who wants to know?" he groaned.

"Let's see....The ENTIRE StarFox team who is in control of weather you live or die today!" Falco threatened.

He was now fully awake, "My name is Caiman, and please let me go!"

"All in good time, all in good time," Fox said. "What we are going to be doing is simply playing a little game. As you can see, we have fastened a C-clamp over your wound. Now you know as much as I do that the tighter that C-clamp gets the more discomfort you will experience. Now, what determines how tight that clamp will be is how well you can answer our questions. If you are smart, you will be able to hobble away with only that wound. If you should piss us off, we have a lot more tools we can use the WRONG way."

Caiman took one look at the clamp attached to his leg and gulped hard.

"Krystal you don't have to stay for this part if you don't want to," Fox said to her.

"Ok, I think I'll go take a nap, I've had quite enough excitement for one day," she grinned.

"What's wrong Krys, weak stomach?" Falco teased.

"Hell no," Fox answered for her, "she's the one who shot this idiot." Falco looked at Krystal with an impressed look on his face; she returned it with a wink and walked off. "So...shall we start?" Fox continued.

"Right," Falco said cracking his knuckles. "Tell me Caiman, what are you doing here?"

Caiman gulped, though he was extremely nervous and couldn't easily tolerate pain. He decided it was in his best interest to enlighten them as best he could. "I was sent here to help transmit information to my superiors."

"Who's your CO?" Falco questioned.

"We were sent here by General Scales, all the reconnaissance we do is sent directly to him," Caiman answered.

Falco rolled his eyes, "I could have guessed."

"Information like what?" Fox asked.

"Well we were given the tools for doing any sort of reconnaissance, hacking or monitoring frequencies. We have the ability to break into any channel weather it be ally or enemy."

Fox's eyes narrowed what Caiman had just said sounded all too familiar to him. "Who is this we?"

"Just me and some other guy"

"Do you think you can be a little more specific than that?" Fox growled, grabbing hold of the C-clamp.

"Alright! Alright! He was a lupine but I don't know his name, we never learned them for purposes such as this." Caiman lied.

Fox looked at his teammates and scratched his chin, "How many eyes did this lupine have?"

Caiman put a confused look, "what?"

Fox turned the C-clamp a quarter turn, "How many eyes did he have!?" Fox repeated himself louder.

Caiman cringed in pain and groaned between his teeth, "ARrrrrgg, two eyes!!"

"Were they BOTH functional!?" Fox yelled louder while tightening the C-Clamp.

Caiman's eyes budged from the sudden surge of pain racing through his wound, "No!! OWWWW!! HE WORE AN EYEPATCH!!!"

Satisfied, Fox released the pressure on Caiman's wound, "Ok Caiman, you can have some time to breathe but don't think we're through with you just yet. Fox waved to hit teammate to follow him away from the table was strapped to so they could talk in private. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, he sounds like he's telling the truth to me," Slippy stated. Fox nodded his head in agreement.

"There's just something about all this that doesn't smell right," Falco said. "That lupine he claimed he worked with sounds a lot like someone I know. Are you thinking of the same person I am?"

"And who would that be?" Fox asked.

"Don't be stupid, you know Wolf was the answer you were looking for. Do you know something I don't Fox?" Falco said giving Fox a suspicious look.

Fox leered back, "You and I BOTH know that no body was ever recovered after we shot him down over Venom."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there is still that possibility that Wolf may still be alive and looking for vengeance. I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid, but there's only one way to confirm my worst fears," Fox said turning his back.

"And that is?" Falco asked.

Fox looked back over his shoulder, "I'm going to turn him loose and follow him."

Falco tugged at the feathers on the top of his head, "Are you serious!?" Slippy held up a finger to his lips trying to tell Falco to keep it down, Falco retorted by holding up his middle finger to him. "Do you really think he's going to lead you straight to his hideout?"

"Of course, he tried to kill me and Krystal, how smart do you really think he is?" Falco narrowed his eyes and twisted his beak. Fox ignored Falco's look and approached Caiman, he pulled the knife he got from Wolf in the alley from his vest. The enormous blade caused a streak of sweat to run down to Caiman's chin. He shut his eyes tightly expecting to feel some serious pain, but instead he only felt the sudden release in tension on the ropes binding his wrists to the table.

"Y-yer letting me go?" Caiman stuttered.

"That's right Einstein, we're done with you. See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Caiman sat up and removed the C-clamp on his leg before placing it on the table.

He discovered he was going to have some difficulty walking when he fell flat on his face after the first step toward the door. Falco came over and picked him up off the ground by his shirt. "Let's just clarify one thing frog boy," he threatened. "If I see your sorry hide anywhere on this damn planet, I won't hesitate to blow your head off. I don't even care if you're in a goddamned church and God almighty is standing before me I will blast your ass in the middle of the sermon." Falco dropped Caiman hard onto the floor causing him to fall on his rear, "Got it boy?" Falco smiled?

"Y-y-yes sir!" Caiman said scurrying out the backdoor.

"Well are you going to follow him?" Peppy asked turning to Fox.

Fox looked at Peppy from over his shoulder, "Yes, in just a moment. I don't think he'll be going very far on that leg of his. Do me a favor Slip; see if you can find any of your dad's old overcoats."

"Sure thing, I think he's got one in his office, I'll go check," he said waddling off.

"I think I know what you're looking for," Falco said approaching Fox. "You're looking for Wolf aren't you? What are you gonna do if you find him?"

"I dunno," Fox replied.

"Well if you do find him, put a bullet in his skull for nearly killing me on venom."

Fox smirked at Falco's comment just as Slippy tossed a neatly folded navy blue overcoat into Fox's arms. "Thanks Slip, geez this thing is huge!"

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers' y'know!" Slippy retorted.

"Yea I know," Fox chuckled. "I really don't think blue is my color but-....what the hell is this!?" Fox said, finding an old jean fisherman's hat in with the jacket.

"What!? It'll make you look more incognito!" Slippy exclaimed.

"It'll me look more like a boonie!" Fox shouted back. Peppy had his paws over his mouth trying to keep himself from bursting into hysterics. Falco on the other hand had his arms folded and back turned to all the excitement.

"If you were going to a fashion show I'd understand why you'd be upset, but you're just stalking a Frog with a gimpy leg! Just put the damn hat on! Fox growled and pulled the hat down on top of his head.

Peppy could take it no longer and fell onto his back and rolling on the floor with laughter. "You look like something out of Gilligan's Island with that hat on!!" Falco gave him a sidelong glance and looked away just as quickly.

"Oh stuffit hairball," Fox said walking out the door. "Old clothes suck!" Fox stated defiantly before slamming the door behind him.

Falco thought to himself silently, "You're hiding something from us Fox. Peppy and Slippy may not smell it, but I do. And I'm going to find out what it is."

Caiman left a fresh trail of blood for Fox to follow and it wasn't before long before Fox found Caiman himself. He was right about one thing however, that leg of his was definitely slowing him down. He relied more heavily on moving between cover than actually using the disguise to mask his identity. "I hope to god Caiman, you'd better not lead me to Wolf...for both your sakes." Fox said to himself. "He's got all that equipment, he could easily be spying for Scales. I swear to God Wolf, if you're playing games with us, the consequences are gonna be deadly."

Despite Fox's silent threat, Caiman lead him directly to the park where he met Wolf. Caiman walked over to the entrance of Wolf's hideout and opened the door. He was having trouble getting down the ladder. Fox threw the coat off on to some rocks along with the goofy hat. Fox chuckled to himself when he heard Caiman's yelp and then a thud shortly after. "Caiman!" He heard Wolf bark. He slowly crept his way toward the hole so he could listen to any conversation that might go on.

Fox listened in on the whole conversation between them, Wolf didn't seem too happy with the sight of Caiman. Nor did he much appreciate Caiman's attempt at premeditated murder. Fox began thinking maybe his accusations about Wolf were incorrect, perhaps he was Venomian defector? He couldn't be sure but he was determined to find out. Just then Fox heard a short yelp followed by a gurgling sound. His face twisted in to a look of disgust, he tried to look down into the whole at what was going on but it was too dark to see anything. He heard what sounded like a fleshy cutting sound and then something heavy hit the ground. He was almost positive it was a body and he didn't have any doubts who it might be. Wolf began speaking again, but Fox was pretty sure there wasn't a third person in the room. He peered down into the hole once since the lights were now on. Wolf was dragging a garbage bag most-likely containing Caiman's corpse to the ladder. Wolf looked up at the entrance; Fox was able to move just in time with out being seen. Fox crept out from the shelter and snuck around behind it where he threw the coat.

It took a few minutes but Wolf finally came out of his hideout dragging behind him Caiman's corpse by a rope. Fox waited before he was out of sight before he stepped out from behind the shelter. He took one last look around and finally dropped down into Wolf's hideout. "Whoa," Fox said when he caught sight of the gruesome mess Wolf had created. "I think it's obvious he hasn't lost his killer instinct" he continued out loud, "either that or he's on that friggin' needle again." Fox rummaged around Wolf's terminal, "I wonder if Scales is on his buddy list," unfortunately he came up with nothing. Everything he had on there had been password protected so he just didn't bother. He took a peek into Wolf's so called armory, "this is some pretty serious shit!" Fox said looking over all of the guns. Much to his surprise not one of them was Venomian manufactured. Disinterested in his armaments, Fox walked into his kitchen. He decided the only way he was going to get any information at all he was going to have to get it straight from Wolf's mouth. In the meantime, he helped himself to a beer in Wolf's fridge. It dawned on him that he should perhaps hide somewhere so he could hopefully surprise him when he returns. He took the beer he stole and hid inside the armory, he left the door open a creek so he would be able to hear Wolf when he came back in. Fox sat in silence a little while longer awaiting Wolf's return ,drinking his beer he thought about what he would do if Wolf had actually betrayed him. "I'm so clueless," Fox thought to himself, "taking information from old enemies. But why would he do something like that? He practically saved mine and Krystal's life; I at least owe that to him. It just bugs the hell out of me that he knows everything before anyone does."

Fox's thoughts were shattered when he suddenly heard someone drop down the ladder and close the door behind them. Fox got up, tiptoed to the door and peered through the crack he left open. Wolf tossed his jacket and gloves off somewhere and stared at the unsightly mess he made. He walked off towards his kitchen and came back with some cleaning supplies. He began furiously scrubbing the floor in hopes of sopping up the blood. Fox decided that this was his chance to move in. "Damn bloodstains, always the hardest thing to get out of any surface," Wolf said to himself. Fox pressed the gun against the back of Wolf's neck, he instantly froze. "Well..." Wolf chuckled nervously. "I see that you've caught me in a rather compromising position."

"Stand up," Fox said backing away slowly.

Wolf got off his hands and knees and turned to face his attacker. "Whew, it's only you, for a minute there I thought it was someone who was actually going to kill me," Wolf said nervously.

"I'm still holding a gun," Fox reminded him.

"Well what's stopping you?" Wolf asked.

"I need some answers first."

"Don't we all," Wolf retorted.

"Don't be a smart-ass with me I'm in no-"

"Then put away the damn gun!" Wolf cut him off. There was a brief moment of silence where the two of them just locked eyes with each other. Finally Fox shoved his pistol into the holster inside his vest. Wolf walked over to his terminal and sat down in his chair. "I suppose you were wondering if what Caiman told you was true?"

"Not entirely," Fox replied. "What I really want to know is if you are loyal to Scales and cause."

Wolf paused, "...In a way yes."

"Why?"

"Same reason as any, money..." Wolf lowered his eyes.

Fox twisted his mouth, "You always did get caught on the wrong side."

"I haven't been caught," Wolf said.

"You're betraying your home planet!" Fox exclaimed.

"Hardly, consider the facts Fox, consider where those bombs fell. Do you think that bombing the trash of this city is a strategic target to hit? What's the point; destroy several blocks of low income housing instead of government and military buildings?" Want in on a little secret Fox? I was the one who submitted the coordinates for the bombers; I took the risk and dropped them on my head instead of General Pepper's. The Cornerian Government owes me a big thank you along with their lives.

Fox scratched the back of his neck, "You couldn't have given them coordinates out in the middle of the ocean or in some open field?"

"Oh please," Wolf said with a disgusted look on his face. "They're not THAT dumb, they wanted to bomb Corneria City, and I told them that this was the best place to hit. Speaking of bombs how's the gang?" Wolf asked biting one of the claws on his paw.

"Krystal almost blew up today, thanks to your friend," Fox said looking at his feet.

Wolf spat, "Heh, my friend is in a dumpster covered in third degree burns at the end of the street." Wolf cleared his throat and held a paw up to his ear.

Fox smirked, "Ok, I owe you a big thank you and it was completely wrong of me to suspect you of selling us out." Wolf had his head turned to Fox and was twirling his finger urging Fox to keep going. "...I'm sorry." Fox continued.

"THAT'S what I was looking for!" Wolf said springing up in his chair with a big grin. Wolf held out his paw for Fox, "friends?" Just as Fox grasped his paw from over the terminal, Wolf tugged his arm hard and pulled him half-way over the terminal. He grabbed Fox around the neck and picked the gun up with his opposite paw and pressed it against his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fox choked.

Wolf brought his muzzle to Fox's muzzle, "Thought so..."

"Traitor!" Fox gagged.

"Traitor?!" Wolf dropped the gun and gave Fox a slap in the face. What the hell's wrong with you today?!" Wolf threw him over the terminal and onto the floor, "Stay out of my refrigerator!" he said.

Fox got to his feet with the look on his face when he couldn't understand what Tricky was saying to him in the Dino lingo. Suddenly he remembered the beer he took, "oh...you could have just asked!" he exclaimed.

"Did you just ask?" Wolf retorted. Fox held up his middle finger, and Wolf began to snicker at him. Fox joined him and suddenly the snicker turned into a full blown hysterics.

Fox walked over to the ladder when he regained control of himself, "you're a real bastard you know that?" he said.

Wolf turned his head in a cocky manner and rubbed his claws on his fur, "yea I know..."

Fox chuckled again, "later" he said climbing up the ladder.

"Don't worry Fox...I'm watching over you..." Wolf said quietly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, if you really don't get it, the first part of the chapter is told from Wolf's point of view. And the second half of the chapter is told from Fox's point of view. I just thought it would be kind of cool to explain the story this way. And if you really don't 

Send complaints there.

Yea, so that. Hope you guys liked it, I did about a paragraph of the next chapter. Let me know what you guys think and their will be more


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